The dwarves had heard of the effectiveness of magma forges/smelters and were determined to make some. They chose one of confusing chambers below the main fortress to flood with magma. Tholtig Avalkodol was sent to dig a channel to the volcano, then to run out. It did not go to plan.
Tholtig dug and dug till he hit the magma. It rushed out quickly, killing him instantly, then immediately slowed down to a easy-to-outrun slither. The dwarves started to panic, because they had heard stories of many a fortress flooded to to pressure. They ran outside, and stayed there until they were sure it would not flood. They were mistaken; only water behaves this way. by the time they realized this they were dying of thirst. They quickly ran back inside, but they were dropping like flies. Even worse, Onget Zazmozib, a newly arrived clothier, had a strange mood that required cloth the fort did not have. She went insane. In the end, only 4 dwarves were left remaining. 4! The next season was a difficult one. Two of the dwarves were assigned to gathering plants, one was assigned to brewing, and the fourth was cooking meals. Nil, the brewer, was the weakest of the four. He constantly yelled at the assigned expedition leader, who was gathering plants. He became oblivious once and tantrumed multiple times. This worried the other dwarves, not because they were afraid he was going to go insane but because a dwarven child had risen as a ghost, and they quickly built a memorial slab. They worried that in his rage, Nil would knock over the slab and make the child's ghost come back, vengeful and murderous. Luckily, (As lucky a fortress that nearly ended can be) this did not happen. Migrants arrived, despite the danger. The fortress was unstable though; there was still bodies in the hallways and workshops, causing immense stress. It was about this time that a newly arrived cheesemaker got overwhelmed by an idea. She grabbed some ginko wood and got to work, and created Unos Ralath, The Wail of Lamenting and claimed as a heirloom. Shortly after that, a Wereelephant attacked and killed Nil, the whiny woodworker. He was the only dwarven casualty. (Some animals died, but that was about it.) Then, a little bit later, The expedition leader got A great idea: An obsidian toy boat! (The power of your will isn't going to make it float, dude.) This was the second artifact of Firemountain. On another note, they got the magma smelter/forge working, so all Tholtig's and all those other dwarves' deaths were not in vain. Another dwarven caravan arrived, and they traded more dead people's clothes for bars of rose gold and other gems and metals in a desperate attempt to make the fortress happier. More time went by. Another wave of dehydration-related deaths happened because they had less drink than they thought. The only really tragic death was Kogsak Godenkegeth, a metalsmith-turned-herbalist, survivor of the Lava Panic, and final member of the original expedition. A few more ghosts rose and were put to rest. Plans were drawn up to drain a pool that was above the fortress and channel it inside, then build a well above it to provide something to drink. in case they run out of booze again and treat the injured that were produced due to tantrums. More migrants came. Then someone was possessed by an unknown force, claimed a magma forged, and forged Isanonesh, "The Still Confederation," a rose gold table. It was placed in the main dining hall with a aluminium chair. It did nothing to improve the mood. They decided they needed a industrial metal, something that could be used for weapons. So they dug down... and down... and down... till, finally, they got out of all that obsidian, into a small metamorphic clump surround by basalt. They found gems of all sizes though noth-
Praise the miners!
No, not candy. Hematite. IRON. And lots of it. They had found the treasure trove under the mountain, one that could used to create an ever more precious material, Steel. Though to make steel, they would have to get some flux from a caravan, unless they found some marble. They didn't do anything with the iron, not yet. They were smelting it down first. But then, Nomal Inodul, Hunter, began to stalk and brood. He claimed a butcher's shop, and said he "Needed things... Certain things..." They butchered an alpaca, to see if that was what he needed. No avail. They let the dogs loose to kill some pests. Meanwhile, a human caravan arrived. No vermin remains or flux. They traded some "Exceedingly rare" aluminum, which was as common as copper in this fort, for some buckets and booze, since they were still strained since the last drought incident. And that is were I am now: A useless human caravan, an emo hunter, a lack of flux, and a fortress that is on the edge of a tantrum spiral. Any suggestions?
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Topic: The Tale of Zirilonol, "Firemountain" (Read 10912 times)