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Author Topic: Craftbridge: A Merry force of Christmas arrives for FB Steaks!  (Read 625 times)

Maul_Junior

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Dramatis Personnae




Spoiler: Artifacts (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Founders: (click to show/hide)








Spoiler: Autumn, Year 3--Born (click to show/hide)







In the 2nd year of this world, 7 hardy dwarves set out and settled near a waterfall. Things have been peaceful, so far. The worst thing to deal with has been the Kea scourge. It has been nearly 4 years, and the Dwarves are finally settling into a routine.

Ustuth Riddlebolt, our baron and resident Weaponsmith, has been long preparing to seal the doors for a massive Dwarven celebration of life and, um, procreation. He has decreed that no more than 35 dwarves may immigrate to Craftbridge's hall. Our final member, the Talented Gelder (and Adequate Surgeon) Doren Pleatrims, has arrived to replace an unfortunate Stonecrafter who went mad after not having access to bones.

Our dwarves suspect that our overseer is not the most....talented [Editor's Note: All lies. I am the greatest Overseer in the world, believe me.], and a few have grumbled that this is why the 4-year party has taken so long to get going. [E/N: Nope. Everything is going smoothly, don't believe the mad little chin parasites] In any event, we have found the Great Magma Sea, even found some Adamantine that *should* be safe to harvest, and have prepared the Magma Cistern far down in the depths of the Fortress (along with a Green Glass Floodgate, already linked to a Lever, for any future Magma needs). In addition, our 21x31 emergency wood stockpile has (finally) been filled, and all we are waiting for now is for the next Elven caravan to arrive, hopefully with War-trainable animals.

There are a couple of other small projects, like the new, underground, Trade Depot that will be separated from the main fort by a pair of raising drawbridges across a river-with a 7-tile drop. The pair of drawbridges will raise up on either side of the Fort, forming two walls flush with the sheer cliff of the cliffs above the river. At which point we will close off our current entrance, and all traffic will go through the new Depot Caverns.

Additionally, the entrances to the Depot will be closable in emergencies, allowing either the seizure of traders' goods or protection of said traders from invasions.

We are digging out the Warehouse section of the fort that will be located all around the bridge to the Depot area. Once completed, stockpiles will be designated with Auto-Trade designations listed. There is talk of placing ramps or stairs to turn it into a multi-story Warehouse.


But what we are really looking forward to will happen after we end off Baron Ustuth's message to the Goblins with the Elven Caravan [E/N: Turning Goblin Invasion threshold down to 20 population]:

This is a crude drawing by Ustut Riddlebolt on a Pig Tail Sheet. It consists of stick dwarves and stick goblins.
The Goblins are sucking. The Dwarves are teabagging the Goblins. The Dwarves are striking a defiant pose. The Goblins are being slaughtered by the Dwarves.
A single Cat footprint and a Dwarven Ale Mug ring are visible on the paper.


In other news, we have finally decided to take notice of the 43 Cats that have begun to plague our fortress, as they have been freely breeding for the last 4 years. Our food stocks are nearly 3,000 at this point, and our Drink stocks are at 2,200 for all 35 residents and still climbing.

About 6 months ago we abandoned the farms, letting them lie fallow while we run down all of our stocks in preparation for the Big Bang. This Fort is intended to be generational, and we REALLY need to get one that. So far we have had exactly one child born. One. And while our Legendary Clothier is no doubt proud, we're gonna need a lot more. Especially after we engage the Forgotten Beast that is--er, was.......in the Caverns. Fortunately no dust or gas.
« Last Edit: April 03, 2017, 09:41:27 am by Maul_Junior »
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TheImmortalRyukan

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Re: Craftbridge: The Beginning
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2017, 07:12:20 pm »

Hmm


PTW
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The Tale of Runlance - A Succession Fort in a Dying World

While the drink stocks run low and violence is rampant, the narcissistic tyrant demands a monument to his name

Maul_Junior

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Re: Craftbridge: The Beginning
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2017, 12:19:35 am »

Obsidian 11th, Year 5. Late Winter.

Hamlet Craftbridge
The Deep Mines
Magma Forges

"Get the bodies out of here!" Duke Ustuth Riddledbolt snarled. "Get The Riddled Machines down here, now!" Erib Longcrafts nodded in a short, jerky motion and dashed towards the stairs. "Oh no, not you too!" Ustuth snarled, and snatched Ushat Boatpears by the back of his Cow Leather Hood. "It's flooding!" he snarled. "Forget the Microcline down there, it's lost!"

"But I called dibs on it!" Ushat snarled back. "That stone is mine! Mine I tell you!"

There was a hiss as Magma lapped at the bottom of the ramp, and the Microcline dissolved. The Magma slowly receded into the lower level of the pit. Ushat stared down into the hole. "Fine," he said. "Maybe I'll stop this one time."

Ustuth shoved Ushat towards the staircase that led up to the rest of the fort. "Go get me that new fellow, the Gelder. I think his name is Doren. Tell him to grab a Pick and get his ass down here like the clowns of Hell are after him!"

Kivish Runlance jogged up to Ustuth. "There's a fire on the surface," the Legendary Gem Cutter announced. "Looks like the reality distortion snatched them out of the magma and up onto one of the frozen murky pools up there, flash-froze them, dumped them in the lowest cavern's lake, before depositing them down here. But apparently they were on the surface long enough to start a fire."

Ustuth paled. "The Depot. We've cleared the way from the Fortress to the new location, but not from the outside to the new Location. The Bowery. The Carpenter's and Woodcrafting Workshops!"

"The fire's on the island on the far side of the river." Kivish saw Ustuth's brow furrow. "The High River, not the Low River. It's sweeping towards the Bridge. There's no telling, right now, whether or not it will catch the Bridge on fire, and cross over to our side of the river."

"If it does," Ustuth  spat. "It will burn the entire surface. The bridge to the Low River Island is madeof wood, and we hadn't hooked up  levers to raise either bridge yet." He paused, and looked up at the ceiling imagining what it must be like 60 layers up. "There's 500 logs up there that hadn't been brought inside, yet. Never mind the Logs used to cover the tops of the old Murky Pools."

Ustuth shook himself. "Get everyone inside. The Ward Dogs are chained up far enough inside that even if the Main Gate burns, they'll be fine."

"Sir," Kivish said tentatively. "The Main Gate is on a Silty Clay layer. The Traps may stop the fire, but some of those cages are Wooden."

Ustuth's eyes bulged as the three military dwarves from The Riddled Machines clattered down the final steps. "Don't just stand there!" Ustuth said as he wheeled around, his eyes frantically looking for a boulder. "Pull the lever! Seal us in! We have one or two emergency bolt holes that were opened to make hauling easier. The Charcoal Makers can make it in on their own! The last thing we need is for this fire to sweep through the Grazers, the Caged animals in their wooden Infinity Cage, and the Food Stockpile. My gods, man. If for nothing else, think of the booze!"

Kivish's eyes widened, and he darted for the Not-So-Temporary-Anymore Dining Room. "The lever isn't even built yet!" he called over his shoulder. "I'll get everyone I can to safety!"

"Where are the Anvils?" Ustuth bellowed. "We need to get this hole covered before an Imp or a Magma Crab comes up through it! Riddled Machines! Stand ready!"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Editor's Notes]

I.....may have made a....slight miscalculation when I designated some channel areas (to deepen the Magma) where I should have dug, instead. Our resident Level 20 Miner Dwarves got caught in the Magma. They were teleported to the surface, where they continued to burn on top of a frozen pool, not melting it like I hoped. I dumped water on them, but they merely froze instantly. They were then teleported to the lowest cavern's lake, where they were extinguished and started drowning, before they were teleported to the Magma Works floor.

Rest in Peace Founder Zuglar Delightgolds, Legendary Miner. I will be sure to have a Fine Pewter coffin Sarcophagus made for you, out of your favorite metal.

Rest in Peace Inod Ringedmoistened, Legendary Miner. In accordance with your preferences, we shall make you a Pig Iron Sarcophagus.

Seriously guys, my bad.

You'll be missed.

I'm a little concerned that magma pressure may cause the magma to back up into our magma works, so we will be sealing what should have been glass grates with whatever stone we have available. In the future, some nameless guinea pig will try opening up one of the blocks--with a dwarf ready at the lever to open the floodgate in case of magma flooding.


Buuuuut on the other hand.

We now have Magma forges. Unfortunately Magma life can poke around underneath us, but that's what the military is for. I'm designating a stockpile down there with Glass Blocks and Anvils for quick and easy building. Probably should have done that earlier, but back then I wasn't worrying about our booze stockpiling burning out while the river is frozen, possible magma pressure flooding shenanigans, and Magma Crabs or Fire Imps coming up from the deeps.

Oh, and our seeds burning up in the same surface fire because they're on an underground pasture level.

I'm *relatively* certain the built cage traps filled with wooden traps won't burn. but I'm going to be moving the seeds to a safe place, to be sure. I can order more animals, and as long as a dorf or two survives, I can plant seeds to grow new plump helmets to survive until the water melts.........but dwarves can't drink ice. better safe than sorry.

While Im at it, I'm making a drink stockpile and a food stockpile down in the Magma Works. We needed one down there anyway. And while it will have to be moved later, might as well get some down here before the fire gets close enough.

Ber Tombsmatched (creator of the frilly shirt) is being drafted to temporarily man a pick so we can finish off a couple projects. He had Mining level 5, but he also came with like level 13-14 Clothier and I already had 2 bad-ass miners. Can't spare him from his Clothier role for long, though.

Doren Pleatrims, the Gelder who arrived a few months ago (currently dwarf 33/35 after this), will become a full-timer miner, along with whoever trundles along in the next season or two.

Spoiler: The Breach (click to show/hide)



I had a sudden burst of inspiration to generate power with Magma. Looks like water wheels require wood.

BOO!

just as well. I've never ever used any power generation techniques. like ever. Though a perpetual motion Magma machine would have been awesome.

.....WAIT.

.....NETHER CAPS!!!!!!

Maul_Junior has withdrawn from society

Maul_Junior has claimed a laptop

Maul_Junior begins taking notes furiously



Granite 1st, Year 6. Early Spring


Duke Ustuth nudged a pile of ash that had once been a pile of log waiting to be turned into Charcoal and sighed. It could have been worse. Far worse. The burning, melting dwarves that had somehow been sucked through a space/time anomaly and landed on the surface had set off a fire that had raged aginst the entire surface. The Depot had survived, but the Main Gate had not. But already, a newer, better Gate was under construction, with Green Glass Blocks as building components.

534 Logs had been counted before the inferno had been touched off. Now there were 268. Most of them at the bottom of water. The 15 or so remaining logs that somehow survived the blaze in x-bad-x or xx-worse-xx condition. The Bee Hives hadn't fared well either. Most of the hives had survived, but the xLive Beesx (and xxLive Beesxx) didn't look too good.

And it wasn't just the fires, either. The twin columns of ice that had distinctly Dwarven cut-outs on the inside had melted, and now water was raining down all over the sides of High River Island. That whole island would be unnavigable for at least a year until it finished draining.

Still, Ustuth reminded himself, it could have been worse. No animals had been burned alive. Well, MAYBE a Turkey had been lost. On the other hand, it was getting DAMN old, and hadn't seen anything but the inside of the cage since just after Embark. only a single Masterwork Wooden Cage had been lost (or if more had been lost, Zasit hadn't mentioned it. And, Armok forbid, the flames hadn't reached the Pasture caverns. Even the Ward dogs just inside the Main Gate had survived.

Although that idiot Mechanic Ushat had almost died twice. First when he had tried to replace a Cage and had reached the Trap just after the rear edge had passsed. Then when he tried to path THROUGH the fire. with a METAL cage. First the Magma, and then fire. It had been a near thing, and had required Tekkud, the Expedition Leader and Manager, yelling at him to get his beard back inside, and that he was off the Cage replacement job for him to turn around.

Lugging the demon-spawned cage with him.

The Duke made a mental note to keep Ustuth FAR away from any professions, situations, or objects that could burn or made to burn. As est he could, anyway.

At least they had gotten the backup, STONE, Depot set up on Lower River Island. It had to have been built outside, as there was no way wagons cold path through the winding, Limonite-vein pathways that currently led into the main fort.

Ustuth sighed and headed towards the Bee hives. He had to replace a few Bees after the fire.

It had been a near thing, he had to admit, as he looked back towards High River Island. The fire had VERY nearly been contained to the one island. But a thrice-damned tree was growing in the perfect side, on the Mainland side of the river, to catch fire from a tree on the High River Island side.

And then nearly 300 logs had been swept away.

And the damn Elves were paying attention to the trees, now. What would they think, the Duke wondered, when they arrived and saw all of this?

If they blamed him and attacked, it would be time to institute a yearly weaponized burn, with Magma pumped from the Sea as the ignition source.

THAT would flush out any Ambushers, Ustuth knew.

He grinned. Plus it would kill all kinds of trees. Killing two elves with one Magma Pipe.

On top of that, he had the funerals for Inod and Zuglar to plan, and had to make sure the proper Sarcophagi got built. 

Still, there were bright sides. A proper census had been taken, and the damn doctor, Momu Tattoedfountain, had gotten away with doing NOTHING for years. Same with the Trader Meng Earrazors. They had been drafted into the Mining Corps, freeing up Ber for his Clothier duties.

Ustuth still hadn't decided what to do with the Gelder, Doren. But he knew that the freeloader Haulers had to earn their keep.

Also, the Fort had an actual Magma cistern now. It was filling up more slowly than the pump would have allowed, but things were progressing smoothly down there.

And the giant party the Fort had thrown while the world burned above them--brought down only a little when Zasit realized some of his Masterwork Cages were burning--had been an enormous success. Who knew. Maybe a couple new kids would come out of this whole fiasco.

No, things were definitely as bad as it had seemed at the time. No Imps, no Crabs, no fire in the Caverns. Yes the raised Gate had burned down, but they needed a new Gate anyway. And it had burned down slowly enough that the fire had passed it by on the other side--preventing any wooden cages just on the far side of the Gate from catching fire. And the Ward Dogs burning alive while still chained to the cavern walls. And the fire spreading through the rest of teh grazers, the seed stockpile, the food and drink stockpiles......

And yes, lots of wood had been lost.

However, now the Smiths were unleashed. Wood Burners would have to find new jobs. Smelting jobs would only last so long.

And Thob, the Glassmaker.....NOW he would shine. Ustuth had to get leather and cloth bag jobs back in the running. And Sand Bag filling. It would be a long way to haul, but now that the Smithies didn't need Charcoal anymore.....

Ustuth began the task of sweeping out dead bees from the hive grimly, but a smile began to spread across his face.

Craftbridge had seen a bit of a setback, but what had been accomplished BEFORE the setback outweighed things.

By a cave dragon-sized Queen.


***

Granite 8th, Year 6, Early Spring
Craftbridged
Magma Works

"KILL IT!" The Duke screamed, scrabbling away from the neat line of Workshops in the Magma works. "KILL IT WITH MAGMA!"

The Magma crab ignored him as it scuttled up through the floor. It chittered as it looked around in confusion. Ustuth swore as he ducked behind a half-finished Magma Glass  Furnace. What a time for this. Construction was under way, and two thirds of the Militia had decided it was a good time to sleep.

The Magma crab slashed at Ast Laborcrafted, his Masterwork Willow shield easily blocked the blow. With a mighty swing of his steel battle axe, one of the crab's wings went flying, and Ast whirled around, easily dodging the Magma Crab. With a yell, Ast swung his axe, and smacked the Crab in the mouth, wrecking it completely. Dishmab the Miller jumped in and punched the Crab's left wing, then scrambled back as the Crab took a swipe at him, in turn. Dragging Ast and his Steel BAttle Axe, sttill firmly lodged in the creature's mouth, along with him. Ast leaped into the air, and kicked at the Crab with both feet, forcing his axe free, and rolling back behind a Magma Smelter.

With a yell, Ast charged the Crab, sending themem both  beak over beard. Ast leaped to his feet and lopped off the creature's left wing with a casual, almost careless, backhand swing. The crab spat a gob of lava at Ast, but he ducked, and the magma hit the wall next to the stairs and fell to the ground, spent.

With one, final swing, Ast buried his battle axe into the creature's body with a sickening crunch. The Magma Crab shuddered, and became still.

Ast Laborcrafted yanked his axe free and spat into one of the open Channels. "As you were, Duke." He rested the axe, still dripping gore, on his right shoulder. "Yell like that again if you need me." He looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I think that's eight for me. One more, and I'll have the kill total of the rest of the militia, combined." He flashed Ustuth a grin. "I know you're the architect, and all. But yo do realize the impassable tiles are a darker green, right?"

Duke Ustuth slowly and carefully rose, trying to ignore the embarrassed color rising to his cheeks. The Magma Crabe  had gotten in because he had made a mistake, planning. Now, instead of the neatly ordered rows of Workshops, the Forges would be slightly off. Ah, well. He madea mental note to give Ast his own squad and his own lackey to train up as soon as possible.



[Editor's Note]

The Elves want to cap my tree felling.

To One Hundred.

OKAY!

DEAL!

If there are 100 trees left standing, I'll be shocked.

Don't need Charcoal to power forges anymore. That means training up Metalsmith/Blacksmiths. Charcoal purely for Steel.

:D

And I can get at LEAST 2-300 logs (probably easily 500) that I won't possibly be able to use.

100 trees?

THE HORRORS!

Now bring me some damn exotic war animal breeding pairs! No more wolf no-war-trainable bullshit.

Elves: Okay, 113, YOU MONSTER!

......You had me at 100. you're giving me more trees?

YOU BET!


....just realized I can floor ovr the former Channel, and fix the spacing in the Forge. >.<

Let's do that.


Granite 23rd, Year 6
Craftbridge
Magma Works

It was a quiet moment, as things went, when the final piece of the Magma Kiln was secured, and became operational. Tulon looked over the neat rows, and smiled to herself. Four Kilns, Seven Smelters, Four Forges, and Three Glass Furnaces. There would have been Eight Smelters and Four Glass Furnaces, but unfortunately the original plans had been just *slightly* off.

Still, with only four metal workers, no potters, and only a single glass worker, at full capacity only a third of the Magma Works would be used.  Maybe half capacity if all the Wood Burners became Furnace Operators. However, the fort was still very young, and there was lots of room to expand the Magma Works--even in this single cistern. With the Floodgate and Lever already installed, it would be simplicity itself to construct another, larger cistern, if the population ever warranted it.

She wasn't done down here, of course. Not by a long shot. There was still a lot of stone to clear out, a lot of hauling to bring all the bars down, the Pump needed to be disassembled and safely stored, and finally the Mechanic's, Craftsdwarf's, Mason's, and Jeweler's Workshops torn down and the composite stones removed.

But it was a good start.

Tulon smiled at the pair of Dwarves from The Riddled Machines that had been keeping an eye on her while she worked. One of them on more parts of her than the other. Ast, the ferocious and Dodok, the Swordsdorf. Stinthad, their fearless leader, had wandered off to get a drink. Right now they were clad in a mix of bronze, iron, and steel armor, with the odd copper piece here and there. Every effort had been made to preserve the limited charcoal stocks.

Now, the Metal crafters would be unleashed. They could be properly equipped.

"We're clear, boys." The dwarves looked up at Tulon one by one. Each had their weapons drawn and readied, and had been watching the former hole to the magma cistern like a falcon. Tulon grinned. "Nothing short of a building destroyer is getting through there."

Ast flashed a grin. Dodok leered at  her as he gave her a quick nod. Tulon brush against her trousers. "With these babies up and running," she rapped her knuckled on the glass of the Kiln she had just finished, and waved a hadn expansively at the rest of the Magma Works, "We'll be able to outfit you properly. And then you'll be set for whatever comes our way."

Ast threw his axe over his shoulder carelessly and ran a gloved hand over one of the Magma Forges. "I wouldn't mind giving this kind of thing a shot," he said quietly. "It's been a while since I did anything creative."

Tulon laughed. "Talk to the Duke. I'm sure he'd be happy to have you mood up a Platinum Mace to top Handleparches."


Ast grinned. "Maybe I will, Tulon, maybe I will."
« Last Edit: March 29, 2017, 02:48:02 pm by Maul_Junior »
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Maul_Junior

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Opal 18th, Year 8. Mid-winter
Craftbridge.
3rd Cavern
The Riddled Machines squad.

Axes swung in dull grey arcs, while a bright blue sword slashed thourgh the air. A loud roar echoed through the cvern as smoke filled the combatant's eyes. They fought on doggedly and with determination, hacking again and again. The Masterwork steel axes found their marks and tore into the eyeless stork. The Masterwork Adamantine short sword bit deeply and hewed off body parts again and again. The dwarves fought grimly inside their steely cages as the Forgotten Beast before them attacked them again and again.

Missing every time.

Their armor was black with soot from the creature's fiery blast, but none of the dwarves were harmed, except for a need ot trim their singed beards after the battle. Indeed, the creature had not even landed a blow on any of them.

Finally, the beast fell to the sandy cavern floor, ash and sand alike rising in an enormous cloud. One last swing with an axe to ensure the creature was truly dead. For a long moment, nobody said anything. The blue sword remained pointed at the creature. The pair of steel axes raised over shoulders, prepared to deliver even more punishment.

The trio looked at each other, and their weapons lowered. The deed was done. The Forgotten Beast Alu was dead. Two other Forgotten Beasts had come to the Fortress, and two others had died at the hands of the inhabitants of the caverns. The first Cavern had claimed Miletha the web spitter. the second Cavern had claimed Momuz the dusty.

And now, finally, the Fortress had claimed Alu.

Ast Laborcrafted was the first to burst out laughing. "It was my axe that felled the beast!" he crowed. "I'm up by two kills, now."

Dodok Playedmirrors glared at him. "Don't get cocky," he snarled. "That's how we lost Shorast to the cave crocodile. We shold have been there, escorting him."

Ast looked at Dodok soberly, and nodded. "You are correct, of course." He nudged the corpse with one foot. "We better go tell the miners to get moving."

Stinthad Narrowtongs, the militia commander, nodded. "And the butcher. and the woodcutter. and all the rest. And all three of us need to get back to our squads." He smiled at Ast and Dodok. "Mind you, it felt like old times fighting beside both of you, but we have a responsibility to the fort to train the next generation of soldiery. Duke Ustuth has taken a liking to that damn gold warhammer he crafted, and the others seem to be doing fairly well."

Ast nodded. "The Marksdwarves seem to be making progress, albeit slowly."

Dodok raised his helmet's visor and spat on the ground. "It might not hurt to raise up another squad on top of what we have. Considering we have a Legendary adamantine spear and a Legendary iron spear, now."

Stinthad squared his shoulders. "Well," he said. "Let's get back to it. Duke Ustuth wants all of these soft, lazy bastards put through a training regimen. And young Zon Healedlance will be growing to maturity soon, too. But first, I think we all deserve a barrel of this fort's strongest alcohol."

"Apiece!" Ast put in mischeviously.

"Aye," Dodok said. "I'll take the first cavern watch with Meng. You two go catch up with the good Duke and Momoz, and have a good celebration. We'll be there as soon as someone relieves us."


Craftbridge
The Deep Mines
Duke Ustuth's Office

Duke Ustuth leaned back in his throne as he studied the warhammer on his desk. Things had definitely improved a lot in the last six months. Congestion areas had been refined, stockpiles resorted, and soon the shaft of sunlight would reach from the surface all the way down to the forges, fixing Craftbridge's cave adaptation problem forever.

On top of all that, the new dining room, consisting entirely of Masterwork Chairs, Thrones, and Boxes had been completed, with the floors and walls all completely engraved. The forges were working, those who had not yet had strange moods had been properly primed. And Dodok, Ast, and Stinthad were unfeeling killing machines encased in the best steel armor the forges could provide. And they were but the first. As soon as he could handle it, every single dwarf in the entire fort would go through basic training, and live in at least copper armor.

Yes, a dwarf had died. but three deaths in six--no, almost seven years was not just an acceptable loss, it was an incredibly conservative number! There were legends of forts in a time before time of hundreds of dwarves dying in a single fort in a single year, only to lose dozens to hundreds more the next.

And casualties would certainly begin to increase, he knew. He glanced down at the latest report, and his lips tightened in a feral grin.

The goblins were coming.

That just sounded like.....

well.......fun.



[Editor's Note]

Achievement unlocked: First ever Forgotten Beast kill as Overseer.

Granted, it was badly injured already, but my Dorfy tanks escaped its fire breath and it did not land a single finger on any of them. On top of that, I've achieved some of my goals of getting rid of less-than-Masterwork items throughout the fort. the new, giant (and future-proofed) Tavern is complete (should be able to hold ~100-115 dwarves at full capacity, more if I move the line of tables up and down a little) even though I don't plan on going above 35 for a while. Next mini-project is replacing every single bedroom to full masterwork furniture (and make honeymoon suites).

Also on a Z-level that doesn't include any dirt.

Now I need to do what I've been meaning to do for a couple DF years: turn on goblin invasions.

To you veterans out there this may just seem ho hum, but this is a lot farther than I've ever gotten before in Fortress Mode.

The next couple of years are going to be devoted to meeting as many of my Dorf's needs (and dreams) as possible, and trying to pump out some kids. Or at the very least hook up some Lovers (and some married couples if I can)!

Time to look through my dorfs, see who wants to raise a family, and get that done, son!
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Quote from: smurfingtonthethird
there is nothing funnier than watching a goblin army get assaulted by hundreds of war chickens.

Any new discovery, sufficiently weaponize, is indistinguishable from !!FUN!!

Maul_Junior

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Re: Craftbridge: The Safehold 35 (er, 34) Dwarves against the world!
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2017, 04:19:03 am »

This entire post will be OOC, mainly because I opened up the Legend Viewer for the first time ever for this world. And I felt like sharing some stat porn.

Populations (by species). Bold=Civ Craftbridge interacts with:

Dwarves: 697 (3 civs--The Raw Citadel, 280 (2 sites) ; The Ordered Paddle [us], 256 (2 sites); The Savage Razor, 14 (1 site)

Goblins: 752 (3 civs--The Lined Midnight, 207 (4 sites); The Subordinate Fiend, 133 (3 sites); The Hideous Barbarity, 325 (5 sites)

Elves: 351 (3 civs--The Buck of Prices, 85 (2 sites); The Maw of Continent, (84 (1 site); The Creative Flute, 152 (2 sites)

Dear Buck of Prices: SEND ME THE DAMN COUGARS AND GRIZZLY BEARS YOU GUYS HAVE!

Humans: 414 (3 civs--The Girlish Kingdom, 141 (2 sites), The Infallible Empire (Die!), 134 (2 sites); The Confederacy of Rewards, 72 (1 site)

Forgotten Beasts: 24

Kea: 12,216
Cave Dragons: 2,472
Giant Cave Spiders: 6,638


Deaths by race:

Elf: 27
Human: 19
Goblin: 12
Dwarf: 8 (4 in Craftbridge)
Kobold: 3 (3 in Craftbridge)
Forgotten Beast: 3 (3 in Craftbridge)

To summarize: 1 in 7 deaths in this world have occured inside Craftbridge.



Goblin invasions have been turned on, let's see if we can turn up the number of deaths a bit, shall we?


Emergency Wood stock(s): 2,600 logs in stockpiles and floors.


EDIT: Make that 3,500
« Last Edit: April 02, 2017, 07:54:53 am by Maul_Junior »
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there is nothing funnier than watching a goblin army get assaulted by hundreds of war chickens.

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Maul_Junior

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Re: Craftbridge: The Safehold 35 (er, 34) Dwarves against the world!
« Reply #5 on: April 03, 2017, 08:39:57 am »

Moonstone 1st, Year 9. Late Winter.
Craftbridge
Northern Adamantine Spire, the Deep Mines
Duke Ustuth's Adamantine Workshop

Duke Ustuth eyed the Adamantine carefully as he eased strings of metal from the rock. There was nobody else in the fort that knew how to do this, and neither did he, very well. However, considering the massive vein of Adamantine they had discovered, someone had had to learn how to do so, and he claimed the responsibility for himself. Already a Masterwork Adamantine sword had been forged, and no fewer than 2 Legendary spears--The Anger of Aches and Aceshimmer had been built. Granted, the Adamantine sword had been dropped and forgotten in the third cavern, and things had been too busy to go retrieve it. And recruitment for the Legendary Spear squad had not yet opened up--The Daggers of Delight, a Legendary iron spear, had been forged early in the fort's history.

For now it was all about staying the course, putting away the last few materials from the autumn caravan, and preparing for an assault on the fifth Forgotten Beast to attack the fortress: Lanisi the Molten Boot, a great eyeless shrimp currently burninating the second cavern. Which suited Ustuth and the rest of the fortress just fine: they were perfectly content to let the beast rage in the depths (or was it the heights, from where he sat, Ustuth wondered) and burn everything in the cavern to ash. Then, once there would be no chance of catching on fire from moss or trees, he and the others would lower the gates and charge.

At least the Fortress staircase modifications had been completed. The last Forgotten Beast to rage through the cavernside had exploited a design flaw to enter the fortress through one of the two primary stairwells. He had actually entered the secondary stairwell, which had been constructed when the primary stairwell had not been able to reach the Great Magma Sea in one, smooth shaft. Both shafts had had design flaws due to the second cavern's lake. Both shafts had had their flaws fixed. Though not without flooding to the deepest depth of the fortress.

Although.....Thanks to said flooding, Dwarven crops would soon be flourishing just two levels below the Great Forge, and 16 levels below the new Tavern, booze preparation, and food preparation area. Which was 60 levels below the surface, and just under  the same number from the old booze storage and preparation area.

And, Ustuth supposed, the food storage and preparation area which had been the same stockpile as the booze.

"Sir!" Young Zon Healedlance tumbled to a stop beside Ustuth's work station, and the Duke looked up as the 6-year old dwarf peered up at him through clothing that didn't quite fit him yet. He was young to be taking a position in the fortress, Ustuth had to admit. But in Craftbridge, where the possibility of immigrants was low, everyone had to pull their weight, and children had to be impressed into service in half the time they otherwise would have. "Message from the surface." The young child's eyes quivered, but he managed to keep--most--of the terror out of his face.

"They say a Vile Force of Darkness has arrived."



***

Craftbridge
Grazer Foyer, First Entrance
Central staircase

"Move your lazy, Miner ass, Meng!" Dodok Playedmirrors shouted, as he charged for the main staircase. "Somebody, pull the level for the 3rd cavern!" he shouted as he tore down the stairs in what could have been called a barely controlled tumble. "I'll be damned if I let my sword sit this one out," he growled. "Dodok, don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to arrange an expedition to get it back. Just let us finish patching the staircase. Oh, we're probing the Adamantine to see how much we can get. Well, we need to haul all the crap from the caravan to stockpiles, it's just htat important." Dodok spat in disgust. He'd been parted from that sexy little short sword for over a year now, and Ustuth kept forgetting to let him go get it.

And now, goblins.

He and Meng, the sole two members of The Walled Senses, were SUPPOSED to be guarding the First Entrance, but Dodok would be DAMNED if he didn't greet the first Goblin party with anything less than his best.

And the Adamantine sword WAS his best.

Dodok passed Ast and Momuz, the grizzled veteran and the Miner recruit, the members of The Tin Weavers, charging back up the stairs. Those two--well, Ast--could probably hold off the 8 goblins that had been spotted on their own, if they made it through the cage traps and past the two war dogs that had served faithfully and well since the very Embark. And if Ast got overwhelmed, Duke McAdamantine with his beloved gold w warhammer would be up right after them, with the....very green (an unfortunate turn of phrase, considering the situation) Marksdwarf squad to back them up.

Dodok leapt and bypassed the final level of stairs completely, just in time to see a dwarf pulling the level. "Meng!" he shouted. "Stay here, don't let ANYTHING past you! I'll be right back!"





**********

[Editor's Note:] To be concluded when the siege is either repulsed or the fort somehow dies spectacularly for some stupid reason I have not yet foreseen. Should be a shoe-in for my side. There's always the possibility that I am somehow neglecting something, and will get half my dorfs slaughtered rather spectacularly while my military waits in EXACTLY the wrong spot.

I mean, one of the goblins is just a Recruit. Not even ARMED.

I look forward to training the Marksdorfs in combat soon, against naked goblins, with a certain Cat Bone Mace--Treasuredrum. I finally have a use for its useless lightweight nature as opposed to just being a vanity weapon. PLUS, using the mace will help the Marksdorfs in melee combat with their own, Masterwork Copper Crossbows.



*****

Moonstone 4th, Year 9. Late Winter
Craftbridge
The Surface, Trader's Bridge.

Stinthad Narrowtongs spat over the side of the cliff into the river far below. "That was shite," he growled, throwing Abyssgoal, his steel battle axe over his shoulder. "The traps by the bridge trapped most of them, and the three that made it through just ran away!" He glared at Ustuth, and leveled Abyssgoal at the noble. "I wanted to charge them as they came off the bridge, but no. You called us back. I told you it would give the Fiery Orbs," he gestured at the pair of Marksdwarves that clung to their crossbows, showing a mix of elation at not having faced their mortal end and dissapointment at having mixed the action, "A bit of target practice. But no, you said you didn't want that one damn Goblin a lucky shot."

Ustuth sighed. "I honestly thought that we would meet them in battle just outside our own cage traps."

Stinthad glared at Ustuth. "We didn't need to hide in our hole!" he roared, waving Abyssgoal wildly. "We were evenly matched in numbers! We had one more marksdwarf! Hell, we are all wearing STEEL armor, headbeard to toebeard!" He glared towards the vomit-covered bridge that crossed the cliffs that marked the river's passage far below. "We should have faced them all in a straight-up fight! Are we elves, or are we dwarlves?"

"Watch your damn tone," Duke Ustuth snarled, raising Handleparches the Fetid Persuasion, his prized golden warhammer, to point at Stinthad. "I may be your subordinate in this squad, but I'll be damned if I let you speak to me that way. This is still my duchy."

"Yeah?" Stinthad glared at the Duke. "Then you may as well lower your greaves and take one right off the side of this cliff. We were supposed to have combat!"

Ustuth glared at Stinthad. "You want combat? FINE!" He looked around at the other dwarves that were watching the argument. They wore expressions that ranged from boredom to mild interest. Ast and Dodok, the other veterans, looked like they were betting on the outcome of a fight between Ustuth and his squad leader.

"Everyone! To the caverns! Tonight we dine on the flesh of Lanisi the Molten Boot! We'll show that Beasty what we think of horrors from before there was time in Craftbridge!" A cheer rose up from the dwarves. Ustuth looked back to Stinthad. "And then we'll let the Marksdwarves get some live-action combat practice in on our goblin friends. They'll use Treasuredrum, so it will take longer."

Ast paused for a moment, staring down at the river as it roared by. "Before there was time, or before there was time in CRAFTBRIDGE?" he wondered to himself quietly. Then he shook himself and bolted for the First Gate.

If he didn't hurry, he might miss out hacking into the monster!


[Editor's Note]

I was really dissapointed that I didn't get a fight. I didn't intend to hide behind my traps. Honestly the traps I have set up over the river are intended to catch local wildlife, not goblinite. Three dwarves made it through, and ran RIGHT past the entrance and off the map. Right as the dwarves were charging out to meet them.

BOO!

To be updated after the battle with the Forgotten Beast!




Moonstone 11th, Year 9, Early Winter
Craftbridge
Cavern 2 Overlook

Dodok stared at the staircase as he tapped his Adamantine short sword against his leg impatiently. He and Meng, The Walled Senses, were babysitting the upper staircase along with The Fiery Orbs, the Marksdwarves, in case the Beast charged up the staircase. The Riddled Machines and The Tin Weavers waited down below. Because no further colonization attempts had been made on the caverns, the primary egress sat directly on the primary staircase.

They would have tried to attack the damn thing in the caverns, but moss was still growing everywhere. So the decision had been made to risk letting the thing inside the fortress itself, and then the militia would fall (literally in his and Meng's case) upon it and tear it to shreds.

There was a dull boom, and the four armed dwarves glanced at each other. That would be the glass gate coming down. The beast would be upon them in moments. A bone-chilling roar echoed up and down the staircase as the creature scented the dwarves. Its footfalls echoed up and down the stairway, and it appeared that only the sun streaming down from the surface was giving Meng and the Markdorfs any comfort Dodok grinned, and pushed himself off the wall, brandishing his gleaming, blue sword. "Time to go to work!" he announced. From below, he could hear Stinthad sounding the charge with a wild yell, taken up by the others from below. Dodok raised his voice to the chorus, and was shocked by Meng throwing himself bodily off the staircase at the Forgotten Beast Lanisi the Molten Boot who had just become visible through the gateway.



"What the hell am I doing?" Meng wondered, briefly, as he fell. The beast's gaze shot upward, and it belched out a gout of flame as he fell. Just as he'd been trained, he raised his shield and blocked the fire. Then, he was through the fire and rapidly coming up on ground. With a yell, he swung his pick, letting the full force of his fall strike the beast. It moved, but it was not fast enough. The pick lodged firmly into one of the Beast's many legs. The miner raised his shield to ward off a blow, then yanked the pick out, and swung again.

Again, the pick slammed into one of the creature's legs, and he thought he felt something snap. The creature's weight came down towards Meng, but he threw up his hield and the creature's momentum carried it past the miner. Meng yanked the pick out of the thing's leg, and took several steps back, suddenly aware of the fact that he was single-handedly facing the damn shrimp  The creature hurled itself bodily towards the Miner, but he rolled away, and the staircase shivered as the thing slammed into the staircase's wall.

Meng charged in again, swinging his pick at yet another of its legs--and again he felt something snap.

Then Dodok was there, punching the creature in still another leg, and the creature collapsed with a defiant roar. The Beast Lanisi tried again to attack Meng, but again he dodged away, punching at a leg even as he slid beneath it to safety. The creature roared in fury.

"Oy!" Dodok yelled at it, dimly hearing the scrabbling of the other 6 militia dwarves rushing to the fight. "Quiet, you!" he slammed his wooden shield into the creature. It snarled at him, and lunged for Meng. "That's my subordinate!" Dodok screamed. "You want someone to fight," Meng's pick slammed into yet ANOTHER leg, ripping it to shreds and sticking firmly in place. "You fight ME!" Dodok leapt into the air, and brought his sword, flashing a brilliant blue in the sunlight down into the creature's body.

Lanisi the Molten Boot shuddered, then went still. Dodok ripped the blade out, and stood, panting, over the creature's corpse. Ast, Stinthad, the damn Duke, and Momuz hurried up the last few steps, to see the Swordmaster standing over his kill. Dodok turned, his entire front covered in ichor, and grinned crookedly. "Nice of you to show up," he qupped. "Now that the whole thing is over."


[Editor's Note]

The mad rush for the Adamantine sword book-ended nicely with Dodok getting the kill. I initiated the former, but he legitimately got the kill after a fairly short and easy battle, if I'm being honest. I was hoping at least all 6 would close in.

eh.

it's dead. And the FB alone is probably a year's worth of food for this fort.

I'm down to 33 dwarves, now. My Legendary Appraiser (I'll miss him, but he didn't do much besides that) died in the last FB attack, and I haven't gotten any migrants this year.

Next time: Setting up an Arena for Led Strikeworks and Vutok Squaretrades to bash naked goblins about the head with an artifact bone mace until the goblins finally die of bruises.
« Last Edit: April 03, 2017, 10:10:27 am by Maul_Junior »
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Quote from: Meph
I didn't actually say this.

Quote from: smurfingtonthethird
there is nothing funnier than watching a goblin army get assaulted by hundreds of war chickens.

Any new discovery, sufficiently weaponize, is indistinguishable from !!FUN!!

Maul_Junior

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Re: Craftbridge: A Merry force of Christmas arrives for FB Steaks!
« Reply #6 on: April 03, 2017, 11:26:49 pm »

Spoiler (click to show/hide)


Game crashed, hadn't saved since FB, will put in what happened post-crash soon.


Granite 11th, Year 10. Early Spring.
Craftbridge.
The Blockaded Home, Fortress Library
and
Cavern 1

Zon Healedlance heard the alarm, and leaped to his feet. He scanned the mostly empty bookcases, and snatched out a particular quire before running for the staircase. The alarm was a familiar one. A Forgotten Beast from before time itself had come to the fortress. After the last attack, Duke Ustuth had assigned him the task of poring through the books and legends written and told since the dawn of time.

From what he had been able to parse, there were probably twenty-seven of the creatures still walking the world when Craftbridge had been founded. So far, five had been slain. And now number six had arrived. Judging by the yelling, the creature was in the first Cavern. Zon charged up the last few stairs, and pulled up in front of Militia Captain Ast Laborcrafted, who was conferring with Zasit Laborpull, the woodworker, who had apparently spotted the beast.

"And here he is now," a heavy object fell on Zon's shoulder and squeezed it like a vise. The boy looked up to see Miner Momuz, the other member of The Tin Weavers, grinning down at him. "I told you he wouldn't be long."

Ast turned and looked down at the young dwarf gravely as he patted Zasit on the back, who promptly bolted up the stairs towards safety. "We have to hurry," he growled. "It's close." He gestured with his steel axe at the water that flanked the glass staircase's walls. "Just on the far side of the water. " He spared a quick glance at the up-stairs. "Zasit said it looked like it was made out of water. What do your scribbles have to say about that?"

His tone was caustic and dismissive, but Zon had spent enough time around the grizzled old dwarf who had just passed his life's mid-way point that he knew there was affection hidden somewhere behind his tone and his words. Somewhere far behind. Experience told Zon that if he did a good job, he'd find a Tallow cake waiting for him on his bed when he returned to bed tonight.

"Water," Zon murmured. "That sounds familiar." Zon flipped through the pages, skimming his notes, until he found the right entry. Like most of the other Beasts, not much had been known about it. "Here it is," he announced. "The Forgotten Beast Ust. A Towering Blob filled with water. It has long, curly tails, and it undulates rhythmically. Beware its deadly spittle."

The Captain nodded. "Good lad," he said, patting him on the shoulder. "Back to the burrow with you. We'll handle the rest. Keep up the good work, son. Take a double portion of rations."

Zon beamed as he ran back up the stairs towards the waiting Tavern as the pair of dwarves behind him unslung their shields and weaponry, and moving towards the water's edge, not even waiting for the other militia dwarves.



Granite 15th, Year 10
Craftbridge
Cavern 1

"Where is the damn thing?" Dodok demanded, slashing his adamantine sword through some moss on the ground, slicing it neatly in two.

"I don't know," Led Strikeworks murmured, peering out at the pillars of stone that cut through the entire cavern. "One thing is for sure, we need to do something about these eyelines. Zasit said it was hanging out on a tree on the far side of this stone forest." She patted her masterwork copper crossbow. "If I had a clear line of fire, I could kill it from here. But with all that stone between us and its last reported position...." she shook her head.

"Worst. Beast. Ever." Vutok Squaretrades, the other Marksdorf member of The Fiery Orbs, muttered, ripping up cave moss from the cavern floor and ripping it apart, lacking any other option. "By Armok I am bored out of my skull."

Light footfalls made the melee dwarves whirl around, weapons at the ready. Led's crossbow was aimed in an instant, finger reaching for the release trigger. Vutok tried to get to his feet while he readied his crossbow, but only succeeded in tripping over himself and faceplanting into the mud.

"What the frell is that smell?" a voice that could only be described as dainty demanded. The meleedwarves lowered their weaponry dissapointedly, but Led's finger tightened on the release for just a single moment more before reluctantly lowering the crossbow. The elf carefully picking his way around mud, corpses, logs, and bits of effluvia that had dropped off of other corpses, logs, or the mud that covered them, was smiling cheerfully. "I am Oda Canyonesteemed," the female elf introduced herself a bit too cheerfully, and Led resisted the urge to put a bolt through the elf's eye. "I am the diplomat from The Buck of Prices this year!" She bowed deeply. At the word diplomat, Led had to sling her crossbow over her shoulder to prevent her from trying to kill the elf.

The elf studied the 8 heavily armed dwarves. "Which one of you is Duke--" She raised a sheet of vellum and considered it briefly. "Ustuth Riddlearrow?" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Duke Ustuth Riddledbolt stiffen in anger. "There's a sketch of you on here, but honestly all you grubby little mudbeards look alike to me."



*****

Craftbridge
Granite 10th, Year 10. Early Spring
Cavern 1

"That was anti-climactic," Led grumbled under her breath. "None of us even got the kill. Melbil got it by scrabbling along ledges until he hit the beast with his pick."

"Eh, cheer up," Vutok practically chirped at her. "It could have been worse. Someone could have gotten hit by that extract it spit out."

Led Strikeworks glared at her partner. "Shut up and keep looking for that damn Pond Grabber," she growed. The sounds of picks hitting stone echoed all around them. After the fiasco of not being able to shoot at the Forgotten Beast, Ustuth had finally ordered the miners to do something about it--by clearing out every single rock pillar they could, to provide clear firing lanes for the Marksdorfs. Practically the entire western reach of the first cavern was visible from shore, now. And Melbil and the damn dyer Asob had been rescued from atop the tree the Beast had refused to leave. And, indeed, had hid behind after taking a crossbow bolt from Vutok.

This was just the first step to make sure that any creature could be targeted by at least one squad, whether ranged or melee, in any of the caverns.

The efforts would continue, and soon nothing would be safe from the dwarves, anywhere.



[Editor's Note: BEfore the crash, the elves had brought me both a grizzly and a cougar. This time they brought me crap.

So annoyed.

Also annoyed because this beast refused to come out of hiding. It took a bronze crossbow bolt, then hid. I didn't even get THAT shot off until I started digging my way through the floor-to-ceiling rock columns that blocked all shots before then. Now I'm building out floors so that I can at the very least get my archers out on top of the water and be able to shoot down at anything that hides in there.


Introducing Migration Wave 9:

Ushrir Netreigned: Trader
Dude gets a Billon sarcophagus

Zulban Smoothnessboat: Animal Dissector
You get a Green Glass coffin.

Both are being sent to the Library. One as a Scholar, one as a Scribe. I want them to write me some damn books, so I can get rid of the "Has not done critical thinking lately" thought the hell out of this fort.
« Last Edit: April 04, 2017, 05:28:31 am by Maul_Junior »
Logged
Quote from: Meph
I didn't actually say this.

Quote from: smurfingtonthethird
there is nothing funnier than watching a goblin army get assaulted by hundreds of war chickens.

Any new discovery, sufficiently weaponize, is indistinguishable from !!FUN!!