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"The World of Visions" : A series of inevitable events

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GeekyBoof:

::: TALES OF RULUSHSODEL "SPLASHEDSHIELDS" :::
Tale 1 - News from Atir

Rulushsodel "Splashedshields",
Ulolinod "The Last Gates",
Teyo Asada "World of Visions".

20 Sandstone 250
Her Majesty The Queen, Shem Balancemined,
Estanokir "Smithelder",
Ulolinod "The Last Gates",
Teyo Asada "World of Visions".

May it please Your Majesty,

I am delighted to report that we, the Treasure of Doctrines, have safely arrived at our destination and successfully founded Rulushsodel “Splashedshields” in your honour. We have already made significant progress in our grand mission to build the ultimate monument to Ulolinod. At first, we encountered the minimum expected trouble. In this occasion in the form of keas stealing our picks; which delayed us a couple of months, but now, that the first caravan has arrived we have been able to procure new tools.

Cilob Steambridged is a great leader; he is a bit too gentle, but everyone has great respect for him. He has devised ambitious and fantastic ideas for our fortress. We have been striking the face of the mountain with all our might building a great bridge to serve as the main entrance to the fort. In time a colossal waterfall will fall on one side of the bridge while magnificent blobs of magma will pour down on the other. It will be a fearsome sight that will fill every visitor with awe. I can already imagine how hundreds of our foes will fall to their death and be eternally encased in obsidian blocks, that then, will be used to adorn impressive temples for every deity in or pantheon. Oh! by Dorian god of wealth, it makes me tremble, just to think of the splendour of Splashedshields once Cilob leads us to success.

Forgive my impertinence, your majesty but I must appeal to our old relationship and allow myself to write to the queen in a more personal fashion. I am just too excited to contain myself.

By now you might have already guessed; I am in love with Cilob. There is something about his thick lips and his brass eyes that makes me feel like everything is possible. It all started after an accident caused a pile of dirt, fall on the wagon killing a few chickens and a cat. Cilob and I were knocked down and I must have been thrown against the edge of the wagon which severed my hand. Once Cilob was no longer stunned he stood up and carried me away from the rubble. I know it seems terrible to have a right hand mangled beyond recognition, but really, it only made me feel annoyed, like when I had to drink without a goblet. And now together with Cilob three hands are much more than sufficient. He has become a legendary miner and I am satisfied to have had plenty of masonry to do.

The rest of the Treasure of Doctrines are in very high spirits too. Meng Workcreatures has become quite adept at carpentry, Nomal Netposts has taken charge of our mechanisms, Tholtig Oiledearths and Zuglar Caverush have kept us well fed. Zuglar proved to be incredible at pretty much everything: Digging, caring for the animals, gathering plants, farming, Cooking and brewing, and she is even well underway to fulfil her cheesemaking dream. I have never seen anyone gaining so much experience in so many skills and at that speed. She truly is an inspiration to all of us.

Only Edem Aceirons turned out to be a complete loafer. He does everything he can to avoid doing anything at all. We also had seven new dwarfs joining our ranks in summer and with them, the legendary metal crafter Melbil Bustlauded, who crafted: The History of the Economy and Mysteries of the Water Cycle two incredible first additions to our future Great Library. And Olon Drillarmors the legendary armourer creator of the Earthen Play.

More people arrived a few days ago fourteen of them. I haven’t had time to meet them, but I recognised Zuglar Towersilver the legendary gem cutter creator of Chokemuted the Hall of Tiredness. I guess news are spreading fast of our noble cause and the most skilled dwarfs around are coming to give a helping hand and have a share of our glory.

I must rush to give this letter to Outpost Liaison Rith Alnisdodok before he leaves for the Mountainhomes. I hope this letter finds its way to The Queen unhindered and I would be humbled if Your Majesty found time to reply.

I have the honour to be, Madam, Your Majesty's humble and obedient servant.

Atir Shootdrum


Spoiler (click to show/hide)Hi Everyone. I have started a fort that I want to make my biggest yet. I will not worry much about coming up with bedroom designs and such, in fact, I want to try things I have never done like Quickfort to take care of that; I will only take care of the more... macro stuff. Also, I want to focus on things like going deeper into my dwarfs lives and events in the fort and elsewhere. The idea is to make the biggest most important fort in the world and possibly turn it into the capital of the civ, if that is a thing that can happen.  I'll be documenting the whole thing in a series of posts like the one above. I'll do my best to do it frequently enough and to make them interesting and at least readable. If anyone ends up actually reading them and want to suggest things to do with the fort or want to know more about a character or something like that. It might turn into a cool thing. Thanks

Superdorf:
Grand ambitions, legendary dwarves, random bloodshed-- the makings of a glorious fortress. I'll be watching this one.

GeekyBoof:

--- Quote from: Superdorf on January 13, 2019, 05:21:33 pm ---Grand ambitions, legendary dwarves, random bloodshed-- the makings of a glorious fortress. I'll be watching this one.

--- End quote ---
Don't forget romance

Imic:
I give you my wishes of luck and speed.

GeekyBoof:

::: TALES OF RULUSHSODEL "SPLASHEDSHIELDS" :::
Tale 2 - A meeting with the founders

Sweat trickled down Stinthad’s face as she lay down her battle axe. It had been a cool spring morning but as the day progressed it had become warmer and with the exertion of her rigorous training, she had started to feel a little uncomfortable. She lifted her head and took a deep breath, she wished they had an underground barracks instead of having to train outside and sleep in the crowded dormitory.  She promised to herself to convince Cilob to prioritize the construction of… -For the love of Sod the Twig of Oranges. The council meeting!- She had forgotten that as the Militia Commander she was required to participate in council meetings. She had only been at Splashedshield for a week but since she was the most skilled fighter in the fortress, she had been chosen to lead The Treaties of Pine the first squad of their army.

In search of fortune, Stinthad and Catten, her husband, had travelled a great distance to reach the famed Rululushsodel “Splashedshields”, the future capital of the kingdom of The Last Gates. But she had never imagined she would end up in this important position. She had not imagined either, that what they would find when they got here, was a meagre whole in the ground. All the work so far had been focussed on a project of a scale incomprehensible to her. 

When she opened the stone door, she was feeling a little anxious.  Inside Expedition Leader Cilob’s office, Nomal Netposts was complaining about the amount of Monster Slayers that had been allowed to reside in the fortress. “All they do is eat and drink and fall sleep everywhere...” Nomal sounded annoyed, but still collected. Stinthad entrance interrupted Nomal at that moment and they all looked up at her.

Edem Aceirons was there as was Cilob Steambridged; the three of them were part of the Treasury of Doctrines the seven founders. Mighty Nomal the mechanic, sleazy Edem, woodcutter and broker and the cleverest dwarf she had ever known: Cilob Steambridged, legendary miner, Famed architect and Rululushodel’s Expedition Leader.

Stinthad felt intimidated. Cilob gave her a big smile and signalled her to sit down. “Oh! Stinthad, we were waiting for you” he said. “I am sorry Expedition Leader, I lost track of time while training. I...” She started to say but was interrupted by Cilob “please, no need for such formality”.

She would not allow herself to relax in front of the founders. “I beg your pardon sir, but this is an official meeting” she said lowering her head. “you are my superiors and is my duty to bestow on you my respect”.

The three dwarfs looked at each other and Edem even betrayed a mocking smile. “I admire your discipline Stinthad but I hope one day you’ll feel like one of us” Cilob said, and to the whole room he said: “Alright we should start; no one else is joining us today. Nomal, I think you are right; we should deny any further petitions from Monster Slayers and should start thinking of an expedition into the caverns, hopefully, the slayers will be useful against those cave swallow people that roam in there and we might find valuable resources. I understand the cavern has been sealed for now, so we can ignore it for a while as we have more pressing matters. In the meantime, Stinthad keep training your squad”. 

“Yes, Expedition Leader” she replied. She only had four scrawny idlers to work with at the moment, but she was keeping an eye for anyone else who might be useful; she hoped some more dwarves would immigrate soon. This reminded her to say: “I beg your pardon Sir, I request the construction of a barracks and...” She started hesitantly but was abruptly irrupted by Edem’s high pitched voice, “The first thing we have to do is to build bedrooms Cilob. At least seven to start with, and Atir has been creating some outstanding stonework; I bet if she made a few coffers they’d be of the highest quality and if incrusted with gems they’d be exquisite additions to our…”

“We are building a whole bedroom complex” Interrupted Nomal irritably. If you weren’t so high up in your own arse you would have noticed. Damn! Even YOUR help would be appreciated at this point” and turning to Cilob she said “progress has been slow. We have too many idlers” she gave Edem a glance, he took no notice. “We need more picks” Nomal concluded.

Cilob directed his gaze at Edem “did we order more picks from the caravan last autumn?”.

“Erm! ...sure” Edem replied.

Cilob continued, “the elves wouldn’t have brought any with them, I am sure, and most likely didn’t bring anything else of use anyway, have they?”.

Edem seemed a little nervous at this and replied “well... hmm, they have already gone those twig-spined simpletons”.

“What?” shrilled Nomal “but they just got here. Did you offer the masterful food specially prepared for them by Zughlar?”.

Edem was unable to completely hide his fear “Erm… yes but they didn’t like it was in a wooden barrel. It was an exceptional one I might add. And how else…”. Nomal gave an exasperated growl “you idiot! what in the World of Visions were you thinking?” she banged the table with her fist as she stood up.

Cilob placed a hand in Nomal’s arm and she, reluctantly, sat down again. Cilob solemnly said “Edem, that was a very stupid thing to do. Elves regard trees as sacred and cutting down a tree to  build anything is to them akin to murder. This might cost us dearly at some point in the future... But it was an understandable mistake. We’ll forget it for now but you as our… diplomat, will have to be the first to confront the elves next time they show up. Besides, I’d love to have been there to see the envoy’s face when he saw the barrel, Ha!” Cilob laughed heartily while he imitated the elves’ silly walk.

This was the first time that Stinthad had seen first-hand the dynamics of the relationships between the founders. She couldn’t stop the unexpected smile, that came to her face at that moment, and let it turn into a discreet laugh. Nomal let the laugh wash away the rage and Edem laughed in relief. Stinthad felt a warm sense of belonging. 

“You must have, at least, heard some news from them” Cilob asked Edem once he controlled his laughter. “Yes Cilob, not great news I'm afraid” He replied, “The Safe Scorpion from The Curled Wickedness attacked the Sacred Vault last autumn” Stinthad was very surpriced to hear this. The Last Gates had been living in peace since The Everseeing Road was lost to the goblins of the Decesive Poison long ago, In 77 if she recalled her history lessons. Edem continued with a worried expression “The attack was deflected but goblin activity has increased as the Realm of Crystals and the Confederacy of Murk, the humans that have kept them under control all this time, have suffered some significant defeats”.

Cilob thought for a moment. He looked at Stinthad briefly without saying anything, but she knew what was in his head. There was now, even more of an incentive to get the army in good shape, as soon as possible. Cilob then said “Conflict is still far from Spashedshield and with the human’s Coalition of Luck being close by, the goblins would have a hard time getting here. By the time they do, we will be more than prepared” He seemed so confident that Stinthad’s own confidence was raised.

“Alright, enough of that. Let’s talk about the fort” Cilob said. “Edem, it’s not only you who have made mistakes”. Nomal tightened her thick lips. Cilob continued: “My waterworks designs were flawed and that has delayed construction. So, we still have no bedrooms, no barracks no proper dining hall. Hell! we don’t even have enough room for our stockpiles. So, I have decided that we are to pause any further waterfall work and concentrate on making this fortress less of a dirt-pile. We must make it able to support our 69 citizens”. This amount surprised Stinthad. She knew the fortress was overcrowded but the current quarters would have felt overcrowded with 30 dwarves. Nomal seemed to want to protest at the idea of suspending work on the waterfall but seemed to realise it was for the best and didn’t say anything.

After a brief silence, Stinthad felt it was her turn to speak: “The main entrance bridge is already quite defendable Sir, so I would agree that work at the face of the mountain can also wait for a while” She paused in case anyone had anything else to say before adding: “I regret to inform you, venerable founders, that Olon Drillarmours has been missing for a week. And there is talk in the Hall of sightings of his ghost haunting the fortress”. No one said anything for a few moments. They all knew that Olon was most likely dead. “We’ll build a tomb fitting his legendary armourer status, we can’t wait any longer”. Said Cilob.

“We have not been able to locate the artefacts that have been disappearing, either”. Continued Stilthad. “This has angered their crafters Melbil Bustlauded and Zuglar Towersilver. Also, that is what might have caused Obok Usolustuth to enter his strange mood”. 

“By Limul the Earthen Steel, how is the old fellow doing?” Interjected Nomal, suddenly remembering the fay aspect that had afflicted the legendary clothier for more than a week. “He has requested ten thousand yarn pieces”. Replied Stinthad. Edem gave a gasp, everyone else was quiet. 

Edem’s blunder with the elf folk might have thwarted the only chance to save Obok’s life, but Stinthad knew that even the elves were unlikely to have provided that much yarn. All possible sources of yarn in the fortress had been depleted already and that had not supplied Obok with even a 100th of his request. The meeting ended shortly after that. Stinthad regretted to have been the bearer of the reproachable news that caused the meeting to end in a sombre tone.

As she made her way to the barracks, she saw her fellow dwarves working hard despite the lack of comforts. She started to feel more uplifted. After all, the fortress was in not too bad a shape: There have not been any monster attacks despite it being quite expected. The caverns were safely walled, and the decisions made at the meeting were going to take the fortress in the needed direction, soon their grand mission would be resumed. Splashedshield would one day become the celebrated citadel that Cilob envisioned. And who knows, future generations might even sing songs of her own contribution to the glory of the kingdom. It was all going to be alright.



Spoiler (click to show/hide)Hi all who ended up here. Thank you for taking the time to read through this little stories. I apologise for the poor and convoluted writing. I am not only trying for the first time to make sense of a DF playthrough to convey it to others in this form but it is the first time I am trying my hand at creative writing (in English that is. Although haven't really done that much in my mother language either. It's Spanish btw). So any feedback is appreciated.
Alright, so I have not had the chance to play as much as I wanted, and admittedly I am taking a lot longer than usual to make any progress in game as I am trying a whole bunch of new things like some DFhack "cheats" and fort building and world viewing utilities. A lot of this stuff is pretty cool but I am finding it a bit cumbersome really. I'll keep learning how to use those tools but maybe a little less intensely from now on. In any case I managed to post even earlier than I thought I would and I have even gotten a bit further in the game so the next story is already taking shape. So if I haven't bored you yet, then keep an eye for the next one

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