Diary of Salmeuk, Summer, Autumn, and Winter of year 157And then, some of them left. The ghoul left. And we attacked, by positioning our squad just below the surface, lying in wait, while a lone 'volunteer' dashed out to make noise and draw the elves and goblins closer. When the time was right, we sallyed forth and slaughtered the remaining invaders. We only lost two of the newest recruits, and the dwarf who served as bait.
We also just happened to catch Limul, the adventurous goblin who braved the Goo Hive and lived to tell the tale. A plucky little fellow indeed!
With the siege temporarily lifted, we set about building a kind of battle arena on the surface. An enclosed structure, with terrain designed to favor our troops. Traps would litter the floor. But it would take time to build, and we were vulnerable during the entire process.
Buqui, the forgotten beast crocodile, fights a newcomer, in the first cavern, which has become some kind of forgotten beast colliseum. Nunui, a towering nematode that blasted flame, arrived and the two engaged at the dwarven-carved tunnel that bridged the gap between the east and west sides of the cavern. The fight was quick, and while Buqui's fat and skin melted and sloughed away in the inferno, it managed to crunch the brain of the nematode and emerge victorious. Buqui reigns triumphant and skinless.
Meanwhile, a plan was suggested by our smiths. Lava could be held in an iron container for a fair amount of time. However, this contained was always too hot to lift or move. But if we put that first container into a second container, also lava proof, the magma could be hauled large distances. Up to the surface, even.
It would require investing our remaining iron resources, but the payoff would be great. All these stray bolts we've recovered, and the armor too large for us dwarves, could be easily melted down into even more iron. An investment indeed!
As if they waited until they were most needed, the mountainhome caravan arrived today. We traded worn clothing and soft-metal weapons for raw iron ores, food, livestock, weapons, wood, you name it. Our stocks are somewhat deprived of variety and this trade was a huge relief.
However, we quickly ran low on trade goods, and the caravan had plenty more in the way of weapons and food. My mind jumped to the room full of captured skeletons. "Why not?" I thought. "Maybe we'll get a price on them. Or at least, raise a few eyebrows."
Sure enough, the caravan master had a few questions about the specimens. "A local species of cat, you say? With "translucent skin, organs, and veins"? Why are the jawbones stained red, then?"
Eventually, they agreed to a much higher price than I expected. About 3200 dwarfbucks worth, enough for a couple more steel weapons. Of course, the real cost could be found in our crypt, as more than half of these traded skeletons carried titles.
Many migrants arrived. Half were drafted, the rest assigned to engraving and hauling. One individual stood out as extremely well-learned - a high-master siege engineer.
Such a dwarf was trained to craft delicately balanced wooden mechanisms that could launch massive steel-tipped bolts, tearing foes in half. We should ask him to make us one of those things.
We were petitioned to build a temple for The Righteous Doctrines, a religious sect that worships The Helpful saint, whose sphere is that of everything kind and friendly. Our existing temple to The Helpful Sain is kind of shabby, only worth 700, and includes a statue of The Saint that I myself carved before the cataclysm.
An update is required before we can hire the priest. I'll leave that to the next overseer.
As the year came to a close, we finished the new magma smelters. Five of them, to be exact, found 76 z-levels higher than our previous forges. This should let our smiths spend less time walking back and forth needlessly.
We also finished the topside battle arena, take a look:
And there you have it, another year has passed and I don't feel much wiser but I certainly feel safer. The next overseer will have a few tasks to complete:
1. Finish organizing the new magma forges however you see fit. There is a simple ore and bar stockpile right now.
2. Recreate most of the stockpiles in the fortress because, um, I was having trouble getting the minecarts up to the surface and had to get rid of everything. It's not so bad because we really don't have a stockpile room or anything, so perhaps it's for the best.
3. Upgrade our temple of The Helpful Saint and assign a priest.
4. Keep an eye on the horizon. We need to shut the gate as soon as trouble arrives!
The rest is up to you, my friends!
Save here:
http://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=15007----
OOC tips:
f5 will take you to the new forges. The zoom keys are kinda all over the place, could use an organization.
Food is OK, but not great.
Military equip is OK, but not great. The new forges will help with that. We have enough iron to make steel now, with the limestone and wood from the caravan.
We have no trade goods.
Defense is A++, but make sure you test the levers. They are labeled accordingly, with the front gate lever in the dining room, and the new arena gate lever in the topside bunker, near the trade depot. The controls for the goo hive are in a small room to the south of the dining room, and there are misc. levers all over the place.
Less narrative was OK this time but I have more fun when I'm writing in character. Sadly, this magma thing was a real PITA so I just finished that, for the sake of future overseers.
Thanks for reading!
Author
Topic: Smallhands - nearly 40 years and still tiny! (Read 412192 times)