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[Superdorf]

24th of Slate, 1050
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Down, down, down Scourge dug, carving the spiral staircase ever deeper, as the days and weeks crumbled by under the swing of her pick. Scourge swung, and the pick clove deep. Scourge pulled, and a blast of burning air rushed through the gap as the pick wrenched free from the rock, glowing.







It was good. Scourge began the long climb upwards, satisfied with her work.
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10th of Felsite, 1050
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Now she knew the lay of the deeps, Scourge set herself to carve in earnest. Already she had hollowed a chamber for the plantings, with a trench to draw water from the cavern-aquifer below.



Rejoicing at this welcome news, Daedalus began the brewing of their remaining mushroom supplies-- for surely there would now be no shortage.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

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A lone bugbat roosted on the ledge of the stairway, inspecting the strange incursion into its subterranean world.



Daedalus told somebody to seal the gap.
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14th of Felsite, 1050
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At last, the farm level was complete and ready for flooding.



Satisfied, Scourge moved on to the stockpiles, and Solitarian set about the long task of bucket-flooding the farms... by herself. Dodok made more buckets, but Solitarian would allow no dwarf to help her. "A queen should provide for her subjects," she declared, and none could persuade her otherwise.


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2nd of Hematite, 1050
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After two long weeks, Solitarian completed her great labor. Thikut the planter, pleased to have work at last, descended the long staircase to begin cultivation.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

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Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)

I'm going to start writing a little terser, I think, at least for slow passages like this one. I'm still making lots of pixel doodles tho!

[Hanslanda]

So far, very interesting. I'm hoping for a creatively insane megaproject somewhere down the line. Something involving the Madness Dust in great billowing clouds.

[methylatedspirit]

Huh. That long without a farm, and in most cases I'd have considered it a lost cause. Then again, I've never tried to embark somewhere evil, so I'm probably overextrapolating from my experience in normal embarks in normal worlds.

[wierd]

considering we started with a hammerdwarf, this is clearly a custom embark loadout.  he probably started with extra shrooms and booze.

[Superdorf]

This was indeed a customized embark.

[methylatedspirit]

100 units of bauxite. I guess time (to getting underground) was a major constraint, given that every moment that a dwarf is on the surface, is an opportunity for the game to screw you over?

[Superdorf]

100 units of bauxite.

I wasn't sure how long it would take to get through the aquifer, or even if I could do so at all. The bauxite was to serve as a stone reserve for that unfortunate situation, and I hoped its magma-safety might come in handy later even if the aquifer proved a simple matter. (Which it did.)

I guess time (to getting underground) was a major constraint, given that every moment that a dwarf is on the surface, is an opportunity for the game to screw you over?

Sure. I figured I'd have to take the hauling in shifts, popping up and down whenever the wildlife died down a bit. But then we had things like owls and ravens near the beginning, and I was able to drag most of the basics inside right away. It went OK, all things considered.

Honestly, I really overplanned this. Everything just sort of clicked into place, regardless of my preparations. 

[Superdorf]

6th of Hematite, 1050
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Now that the essentials had been more or less taken care of, Scourge turned her attention to more luxurious commodoties-- such as bedrooms.



Scourge was a little suspicious of the design Daedalus had laid out for her. He called it a "windmill pattern". Said it was a part of his Vision.

It looked cramped to her.
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Three days later, Scourge finished hacking out the seventh bedroom nook. She was glad to stop carving nooks; they were finicky things to carve. Dig too far and you'd break right into another one.
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12th of Hematite, 1050
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"HnngHA"
"NnnnGA"
"HnnnGRA"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"Uh, Atir?"
"Nnng-- What." Atir lowered her hammer.
"What are you doing?"

"Drilling with hammer," grunted Atir. "Will fight better this way."
"Oh," said Dodok.

"NnnnGNA"


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14th of Hematite, 1050
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Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Vindcara shoved his way into a neatly hewn chamber, pushing a pile of slate blocks in front of him. Scanning his surroundings with an expert eye-- it really was a nice spot Scourge had dug out for him-- he walked about the room, marking with a chunk of smokerock where he intended to put his kniferacks and worksurfaces. Already he could see a fine mincing kitchen in the making here, just as soon as he got all the loose stone out of the way... and he'd have to improvise some kind of knife. Maybe he could sharpen a piece of slate or something.
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15th of Hematite, 1050
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The kitchen was ready for use, and-- though it'd taken him several long hours-- Vindcara had managed to grind a shard of slate into a usable blade. Now to see about that horse meat.



It was nice, Vindcara reflected, to get away from Solitarian for awhile. She'd been acting kind of strange around him lately.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

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"Daedalus?" asked Solitarian, as she chiselled out the bottom of a rock pot.
Daedalus raised his eyes from the plump helmet he'd been mashing. "Yeah?"

"Where'd our anvil go?"
"It's still outside," said Daedalus, "and I don't intend to grab it any time soon."

"Well, make another one sometime," said Solitarian. "Your queen commands thee. We're going to need more than one, you know."



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19th of Hematite, 1050
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There was no need for more workspace just now. It was time, Scourge decided, for something new. Something ambitious.

It was time to carve a dining hall.



Daedalus had laid out his Vision in detail. The hall was to be long and wide, with chambers on either side for various purposes. Long rows of stone tables would stretch across it, and eight staircases would provide access, radiating from the central one in a manner pleasing to the eye. Dwarves would come to witness this Vision in its glory, and Dawnthunder would recieve them well. Thus was the Vision, and thus it would be done.

Scourge was just happy she wouldn't have to eat on the floor anymore.
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21st of Hematite, 1050
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"Oi, Atir," said Daedalus one morning. "Solitarian was asking about the anvil the other day, and she's right-- we should bring it in sometime. Is it safe to go outside yet?"

Atir lifted the hatch cover a mite.





"No."
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3rd of Malachite, 1050
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After long weeks of knifework, Vindcara had finally cut through the very last of the horsemeat. The mincework was a little sloppier than he'd like, but that would surely improve with better tools. For now, he was content.
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6th of Malachite, 1050
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"Don't get me wrong-- it's a very nice mug indeed-- but how did you even carve this stuff?"



"I improvised!"

Well, thought Daedalus, at least it's not smokerock. And it really is a very nice mug.
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9th of Malachite, 1050
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After nearly three weeks of labor, Scourge squared the last corner with a triumphant swing. The dining hall was clear-- and already the others were fitting it with Dodok's fine masonry.



Until this day, Dawnthunder had been a dugout, the frantic scrapings of seven beleagured dwarves. Now the seven were well-fed and safe, and their hole had become a home.

Soon, it would become a fortress.
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[Superdorf]

Migrants have arrived, and they're not dead yet! Methylatedspirit, Enemy post, what names do you want your dorfs to go by?

[Enemy post]

Just Enemy post, please.

[Solitarian]

To fit the theme of this fortress, I think the furniture, weapons, walls, etc. should be made of unusual things. You could make tables of soap, for example.

[Superdorf]

To fit the theme of this fortress, I think the furniture, weapons, walls, etc. should be made of unusual things. You could make tables of soap, for example.

Hm, yes. Certainly I've been enjoying the smokerock for construction purposes-- it's so light and colorful! Just so long as you don't think too hard  about what it's made of...

Also, sphalerite crystal appears to be a workable rock; our dwarves will happily fashion the stuff into mugs, furniture or what have you. Given the striking nature of the mineral itself--

Spoiler: Sphalerite crystal (click to show/hide)

--I can only imagine the resulting works of craftsdwarfship are spectacular indeed.

[methylatedspirit]

A normal sphalerite mug just sounds painful to even touch.

I'll have my dwarf go by "methylatedspirit", though for the sake of storytelling, "Methyl" might be more suitable in dialogue.

[Superdorf]

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12th of Malachite, 1050
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Three months ago, Scourge had cracked open the pure mantle of the earth. Now she intended to make something of it.



There was no need for any great Vision now, for this was a labor close to Scourge's heart. Working by instinct, she chipped swiftly at the stone, content to let the pick do its good work. Two long days passed like flowing fire, and then--



There should not be water here. This was no place for water. Incredulous, Scourge dug deeper into the damp.



Even as the water began to flow, Scourge dug deeper still, hoping against hope... until, at last, she was forced back by the rising water.





This was a terrible thing, water over magma. Scourge would have to try a higher level.
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15th of Malachite, 1050
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A furtive tapping at the hatch sounded over Atir's head. "Hsst!" whispered a voice. "Is anyone down there?"
"Hng," said Atir, raising her hammer. "Who walks over hatch?"
"Three dwarves!" whispered the voice, sounding frantic. "Only there's giant sparrows out here with an awful lot of flesh missing--"



"--and we'd really like to get off the surface before they notice!"

Atir raised the hatch a mite, and seeing three pairs of dwarf-boots, opened the hatch completely. "In. Quickly."
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Atir escorted the migrants to the dining hall, where they were recieved with great rejoicing. Daedalus sought to learn their names and trades, and so the three introduced themselves in turn.

"I am Adil," said the first, a burly woman with emerald eyes. "High Master in the brewer's art."


"And I am Enemy Post", said the second, well-sinewed and confident. "My accomplishments in metalcrafting are innumerable, and I am proficient in the skills of war."


"Worthy skills!" declared Daedalus, eyes alight. "We recieve you both with gladness! But what of this dwarf behind you? What name and glory does he claim?"

"Uhh," said the last, reluctantly stepping forward. "So I'm... Methylatedspirit. I normally just go by Methyl. I can, uh, dye cloth. Kind of."

"Dye cloth?" said Daedalus. "As in, apply colors to it?"

"...Yes."

"Ah," said Daedalus. "Well then... hm. Are you light on your feet?"
   
"I suppose so."

"Can you run, and dodge, and endure?"

"...Mmmaybe?"

"Are you willing to fight and die for your new home?"


"Uhh. Actually, my doctor says--"

"Wonderful!" cried Daedalus, the old mad grin across his face. "Atir shall have a sparring partner!"
"What?"


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Spoiler: OOC (click to show/hide)

Apologies for the tardy update.

[Solitarian]

You are setting a difficult precedent with all these cool illustrations and descriptions. Whenever the next guy plays, he better produce oil paintings of Dawnthunder daily!