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Author Topic: Spookyfort IV: The Overlook - Overspookers welcome!  (Read 12834 times)

nogoodnames

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Life is, in a word, volcanoes.
                        - Random human lord

delphonso

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Act 1: Afterwards.



Name's delphosno, but most people just call me "Sno". It's a fitting nickname, given the circumstances.

My wife (Tig rest her soul) suggested I write this journal, so. Well, forgive me if I ramble. I'm new to this.

It's been five years since the King Under The Mountain woke up. We'd been down there...well, no one knows any more, which suggests it was a hell of a long time. The King wakin' up...well that suggests the end of the world is coming. We expected it to be - you know - soon. But it's been five years, and the King really only stayed around for a month before that giant shark chomped him up. We warned him not to go swimming in the salty caverns, but...well he was the King, and all.

I guess we was a bit listless for a while. Then the new King said we should return to the old ways. People liked that. The surface world had gone pretty nutty. The scribes had recorded Elves, Goblins, Humans, and the occasional great beast. Now the surface is covered in little dingly-shoed elves who make toys, humans covered head to tow in strange metals, and a bunch of like...skeletons and shit. It's fucking insane to be frank.

I weren't particularly pleased to be sent to start an outpost, but uh. Well, ever since Tulon died (swooped up by a bird who then exploded) I just ain't been the same and been searching for a purpose. So here I am. I'll put together the finest damn dwarven fort the shark-bitten king ever seen.



-=-=-=-

Luckily the surface had a few trees - a few covered with twinklin' lights and a star on top. Seemed intentional, but whoever done it ain't around, so we turned it into a table. We're sharing beds for now - just a few packed in a corner of the messhall. We dug straight through the aquifer without issue, then used that water to prepare some farms in a more convenient place.

We broke into the upper caverns pretty quick - they're a muddy mess, filled with 'boids' and little flyin' babies. I decided it's best just to lay down a floor and forget about it for now. That's what I'd call "someone else's problem."

-=-=-=-=-

Speakin' a problems.



Now I read somethin' once about clouds turning dwarves into zombies. Heck that might be what that zombie town we passed earlier was all about. The area here seems pretty lighthearted, though - so I reckon it ain't much to worry about.



Well...it's uh - headin straight for the entrance of the fort. Probably nothing to worry about.



Well perfect - just in case it IS something to worry about, let's chuck a guineapig at it. And we're fresh outta cavies.

Well the cloud seems to just smell of cinnamon and nothing else. It's hard to tell, since Upi disappeared on the horizon - what with him being 2-dimensional and all - I sent a few dwarves to check it out and they came back without anything to report. The oddest thing is actually that they don't seem to recall going into the cloud at all. They came back fine and unphased so I'll just chalk this one up as a victory.

-=-=-=-=-=-

We managed to find both coal and iron ores here. Seems this was the right site to choose.

-=-=-=-=-=-



I was working in the carpenter shop that was temporarily set up in the hallway when I looked down a saw a heap-a critters milling about. We been callin' 'em "boids", not sure what they are or how they got there - but the fungal crows seemed to really have a grudge against them.

It were a massacre.



-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Well this is embarrassing, but I gone and slipped down the icy-ramps covering the entrance. Hurt my back real bad this time and will be needing to take it easy for a spell. I hope Livingdead is good enough for whoever takes up the reigns. She ain't much, but she's set up to last. Good luck, pardner.




-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

OOC:

Sozzz - I'm heading off for an impromptu holiday tomorrow morning (thank my wife, the inconsiderate jerk!/s) and doubt I'll have time to play/don't want to haul the laptop along.

I'm just into Autumn - so didn't get much play in. I expect the caravan will arrive the instant you unpause. The water buffalo were turned into crafts and meals, so there should be something to trade. The caverns were breached and then instantly sealed so I could set up base. They're already insane. I saw cherubs and devil ticks already.

Salmeuk...
GET SPOOKED

SQman

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Not very eventful so far, but everything has to start somewhere. Either way, it looks like it will be a really fun one, can't wait to see more.

I've checked out the magical smoke, by the way, and...
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

delphonso

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It caught me by surprise. The stickman and a couple other dwarves were all caught in it before I got them downstairs. I didn't even notice anything in the wounds tab. Thank goodness for that. Easily could have been a fort ender if it had a negative effect.

Salmeuk

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picking this up tonight, should have turn complete / mostly done after tomorrow. good timing on your wife's part haha


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Salmeuk

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6th of Limestone

no sleep for days now. fear the King under the Mountain might come crawling up my rear end . he is dead, they say, but I aint buying no dead king who just appears and disappears.

afraid all the time. but also thinkin about that cloud o' mist above, you know, the good cinnamon smelling one. just about the best thing I ever had in my head I think, and I wouldn't mind catching another whiff if you know what I mean. they say its poison but nothing smelling that sweet could be poison!

I asked to be the one with the axe, instead of Sto. Sto seemed ok with this, but later just sorta told everyone I was leader now? that whoever held the axe was the one with the power to lead Livingdead?

10th of Limestone

Upi the 2-dimensional stickman has quickly become one of my best friends, despite his flat personality. its a little awkward though when you're lookin for somewhere to lay your head and end up in the same bed as him without noticing .

Olin Dederal and the caravan from Zamnuthtulon arrived on this day. we threw cheap trade goods at them by the handful; in return we found ourselves with a strange selection indeed. All kinds of beasts had sprung up from the demonic magic released by the King under the Mountain, and enterprising dwarves saw fit to capture, tame, and trade them as pets.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
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I fell in love with the shaggy cow beast almost instantly. what a magnificent specifimen, productive and look at those massive shoulders!! however the stingy trader left me hanging. . so we ended up trading our bone goods for some steel bars and a goose.

And no, before you ask, I dont think my inebriation affected negotiations.


11th of Limestone

new smoke arrived, and i was happy to go for a sniff. I didnt tell anyone, you know, they wouldnt understand the urge I dont think. i said I was going for some more logs, took the axe, and no one said a thing!

this mist or whatever was pink and seemed sticky, like it was crawling along the ground instead of floating.. my mind was already imaging of the taste of sweet pod candy or some amazing, unknown fruit, as I walked into the cloud.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

No. Just cinnamon. but its amazing and I sit here inhaling the strange fumes, feeling intoxicated, forgetting all else.

ooc: same cloud I think, I just have a strange colorset installed that plays with the colors so much as to shift an orangish hue to a pinkish.


22nd Limestone

we cut down the remaining trees in the area. they will grow back in the coming years, but for now the wood is necesary. the fruit, hazel nuts and sand pears and peaches and plums, were gathered and brewed into various delicious autumn wines, and enjoyed with flank steaks cut from the waterbuffalos.

12 Sandstone

the traders left.



a snowstorm arrived. then, this:



large booming explosions rocked the surface, shaking snow from the low shrubs, as the merchants engaged some unknown threat. reports came: yellow striped dog things causing shrieking explosions had ambushed the wagons.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

all was well and quiet after some time: the so called Houndeyes were not much of a threat.

Finally, for a ridiculously eventful day, migrants arrived. Livingdead now had 20 living dwarves. Four were drafted into a squad, destined to train in the art of killing things with gigantic axes, but for now were commanded to practice their deadlifts and calisthenics.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

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Salmeuk

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21st of Sandstone

frost spirits have infested the booze pile. not much can be said about these little wriggling, glowing creatures, mysterious as they are, except their voracious appetite for meal and booze alike. some of the dwarves claim the little spirits have blessed them, to unknown effect:



2nd of Timber

A strange awful sight: leaf-ed and terrible, a dual-headed beast sprinted across the snowy fields. One head threatened with a large toothy overbite. The dwarves were called underneath, while the smiths worked furiously on the axes.


Spoiler (click to show/hide)

8th of Timber

the caverns are rich with lignite and iron. We risked a momentary breach to grab some of the black stone, to fuel the furnaces to make the blades to fight the beasts above.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

21st of Timber

we dont go to ravenholm

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

also,

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1st of Opal

Winter arrives, and with the change of seasons our food supplies have been threatened.

It was decided we would send the four axedwarves, led by the esteemed fighter Edzul Cagelanced, to clear the surface. behind the gate, Houndeyes chirped and squeaked to one another, as if intelligent.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The fight was quick, painless... for the dwarves.

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15th of Opal

I had a nightmare, she had black, black eyes,


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so I woke up and puffed my pipe pensively while looking towards the horizon

25th of Opal

one of the migrants brought a great deal of skill in armorsmithing, and before I could say anything turned the remaining stocks of charcoal and iron bars into admittedly beautiful shields. But still, he was scolded for not thinking of the numerous other useful things we could have made. More wood will be burnt into fuel, and lignite and coal prospected for.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

28th of Opal

A new temple space was excavated, and dedicated to Gulgun, god of Dreams and Nightmares. The name is a mouthful, "The Mysterious Sanctuary of Murder," but that's whats trending these days. we're expecting large crowds of visiting visitors, expecting a good spooking. To that, plans have been drawn for a large skeletonry. for making skeletons and skeleton themed merchandise.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

14th of Obsidian

A new statue was commissioned :-*, in silver:



Truly the stuff of nightmares

Asen turned out a literal masterpiece. First Try. no lie...



maybe these spirit blessings are more than goblin snot.


1st of Granite

Spring has arrived. The axe is still mine. The blessings will continue until morale improves.

« Last Edit: October 02, 2022, 04:58:40 am by Salmeuk »
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delphonso

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Her eyes are black...like a doll's eyes...

This is actually turning out to be a very pleasant fort with beautiful skeleton statues.

Salmeuk

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9th of Granite

Elves? Elves. Perfect excuse to go topside and inhale some of the cinnamon dust. Mmmm. Dust.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

We are now the proud owners of three snowmen. Their biology is a mystery, but they seem to enjoy the occasional sip of brew so they can't be that strange.

6th of Felsite

A new line of toys for export:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

also, strangers at the door. A pair of oddities:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)
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and the first artifact proves... mundane:
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bedrooms are lookin good:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

20th of Felsite



Quattuordecaplets?!?!

chicks hatched, insanity ensued until we stuffed them all in cages. we feed them scraps through the bars and they seem happy enough. We're not quite hungry enough to eat the fungal crows..



14th of Hematite

Summer brought a caravan. Elephantmen.



And then, shortly after... another caravan?!



The lion people! Nye Nye Nyemhors!

Wait, whats that? Surely not another caravan!



uhm. stahp.

TIL there is a menu for selecting from multiple present caravans. wow.

Spare shields were traded for....... beautiful, gigantic sapphires. piles of bounteous meats, dried, pickled, or still alive. . fruits, wines, bags of seed and sand, glass, handfuls of shining jewels, bars of platinum and bins of cloth, leather, and everything one could need. also cheese. and this thing"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)


1st of Galena

New caverns discovered, after plunging the 3-wide hallways further into the depths.

Upi the stickman went exploring. And found more than he bargained for:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

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We rolled up his corpse and stuffed him in one of the coffins. We'll miss the skinny lad.

Upon review of the local cavern geology, it was decided to carve out a pasture of sorts, removing the stalactites and creating a safe, open space for whatever creatures we decide to collect.



Later that week, a horde of pygmies ran up the ramps and into our hold. They were dealt with.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Following this, an apparation by Tarn himself appeared and murdered one of our dwarfs:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

8th of Limestone

One of the migrant spooks took to a mood, claiming the smithy and a single silver bar. A week later, they produced this:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
A powerful artifact! Wardglimmer the Labyrinthine Sewers will remain a part of Livingdead until the end of time. We gave it to the captain of the Axedwarves.

The third cavern layer was located, and quickly sealed.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

18th of Limestone

The traders arrived, we opened the gates, then that BEAST leapt out of the shrubbery and swallowed one of the dwarves whole.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

just kidding, did I spook you? turns out, the blooming beasts seem rather afraid of us.

2nd of Moonstone

Winter arrived. I went to get some coffee, and low and behold came back to this:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

pirates.
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SQman

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Those damn pirates came to illegaly download our software! Nothing more terrifying than that.

delphonso

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Those damn pirates came to illegaly download our software! Nothing more terrifying than that.

What a brilliant twist!

Salmeuk

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Pirates? de-limbed.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Forgotten beasts? Ignored.

Poisonous Headcrabs? um actually this one got us

Spoiler (click to show/hide)


A horde of pygmies rushed up the ramps, straight to the trade depot. Some were killed, but two pygmies laid hands on some of the nicest gems we had purchased from the caravan. And then strolled off into the wintery forests, never to be seen again.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)


they tricked and treat-ed, all right

Spring arrived, and then in the few frames it took me to pause the game, a child was born:


. . . that child must be the chosen spook.

I hand the axe of leadership over to the next fool fellow.

Overview:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Cavern Pasture, not sealed but somewhat secured:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Save: https://dffd.bay12games.com/file.php?id=16108

I was horrified.
« Last Edit: October 04, 2022, 05:31:10 pm by Salmeuk »
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SQman

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I'm somewhat sleep deprived, trying to drown the headache with Red Bull; I had spent 90 minutes waiting for my bus to get home; it's kind of chilly outside; a load of pink onesies is spinning in the washing machine. Perfect day for some writing.



Doctor S. Q. Mann looked around the anatomical theater; not a single student remained, only him and the dissected corpse of an old dwarven woman. The grim, stern gaze of the surgeon, for a second, turned into a creepy smile of excitement and satisfaction. "Finally, I can gather materials", he thought, "The greatest project a dwarf can undertake, and it will be realized by my hand! Limbs can be found in the graveyard, hidden in freshly buried caskets, but organs need to be fresh for the New Urist to be created."
The doctor looked closely at the insides of the corpse. "The brain of the old demented crone will not do, I need a young dwarf, preferably a man; she died of kidney failure, so these are useless; the liver is in a decent state, however I believe I can find a better one. The stomach, guts, and most importantly the heart, now dead, will soon live inside my creation. Just a few quick cuts of my scalpel..."

The door to the room were suddenly kicked open, and three burly dwarves barged in. "In the name of His Undying Majesty, you are under arrest!", one of them screamed in a high-pitched voice, "Put the scalpel down, criminal!"

"Criminal... Pray tell, constable, what is that I have done?"

"Three accounts of grave robbing, corpse desacration, theft, vandalism; there's more, but you should already know how much trouble you are in."

"Hah! You, simple people, will never understand that there are no means vile enough to justify the possible outcome of my actions. You can arrest me, but should you? Should you deny a man the chance to become a god? Deny him his right to apotheosis? My work may bring a new era to dwarfkind, age of the titans, living deities capable of creating life from death."

"The man has lost it. Tekkud, club him into submission.", the policeman ordered. One of the dwarves walked slowly towards the doctor, raising his baton. Mann decided to protect himself with his scalpel, but before he could even raise it, the police baton hit his skull with great strength, knocking him out.





I have no idea how I got here. I remember pain, talking about hammering, wind and cold, and smell of cinnamon. Livingdead, this is where I am; I don't know how I know that. My body shows clear signs of beating, so perhaps hammering did happen? For some reason I have the badge of the outpost overseer pinned to my jacket, which means...

A dwarven settlement is like a living organism, composed of many members, each with its own role, its own diseases. As a doctor, it is my duty to examine the state of the place. If nothing else, I will learn something more about my new home.



Near the entrance is a pile of various corpses and body parts, some perhaps useful, many not likely. Rotting flesh generates vermin and diseases that I would not want to see in Livingdead. I may have to take care of it, now that I am in charge.



The bulk of the town is located on a single level, just above the caverns. The basic amenities seem to be in place - food and drink production, forges, bedrooms, a temple, and a nice dining room. HOWEVER... There is no seeds for underground crops. Someone was trading for fruit and vegetables, it seems, and I cannot say we are short on food. I immediately ordered to cook all the meat lying around, because there is no reason we should eat like savages.



The gem industry in Livingdead was... vestigal. this was one of my first orders - building a makeshift storage area for gems.



I could not be allowed to work in peace, of course. Two jolly elves and their reindeer came to trade. I wonder what they brought. Someone has been making tons of giant corkscrews, probably in anticipation for a massive delivery of colossal wine bottles? I heard the corkscrews go for a lot, if those elves are not as troublesome as wood elves.



The elves did not have much. Out of pity, and because that bugged me, I had a cage stuffed with fungal crows given away for some instruments, waterskins, backpacks, clay (although we're sitting on a kaolonite deposit), and reindeer cheese.



Meanwhile, a pile of creeping rot somehow crawled into the fortress, and ripped a chicken apart! Repulsive monstrosity!



The monster fell before it could harm anybody else. It is time for my work...




Well, I underestimated the creature. After the fight with the creeping rot, some of the unarmed hammerdwarves suffered a horrible illness. Bomrek's body started rotting due to the contact with flesh-eating bacteria that covered the abomination. A good doctor might be able to treat this affliction. Might, because it is difficult to make promises in cases such as this.



No, there is too much work for a single man! I'v rallied some people with basic medical skills to help with tending to patients. I also had a few chests and traction tables made for the hospital, because a well-equiped medical facility should is like a liver of a dwarven fortress.

Bomrek, unfortunately, could not be saved. It was mostly my fault; I could have called for help sooner. My patient, Kumil, is getting better, but there is still plenty of work to do before he's safe.

As it turned out, the hospital wasn't even a hospital, but rather something akin of a barrack. Go figure.




While I STILL fight the cursed infection, the new branch of industry is flourishing. Many people shun bone crafts, regard them as too morbid. I, however, greatly value the ability to turn dinner leftovers into profit.



I was... surprised, to say the least, when a crocodile-headed man came up to me and introduced himself as the lord consort of... somewhere. That would not be so strange if he didn't come here to become a mercenary. Well, he looks kind of scrawny, but he's still larger than any dwarf. Unfortunately, his weapon of choice is a bow.

The a total of 17 dwarves came. I'm not the most sociable of dwarves, so I'll let them take care of themselves.



Suddenly a stone detailer on the main level stopped working, and ran into the craftsdwarf's workshop. He rolled two mudstone boulders in, and then started giving vague signs that people interpreted as begging for some leather. I ordered to slaughter a donkey that came with the migrants.

What happens next is up to the next person who takes the reins here. I'm not cut out to be an overseer. I could not even make sense of the fortress despite having a whole year to do it. I will stay in the shadow, though, and mend broken flesh instead of broken designs.



Jeez, that was way too fast!
I accidentally went all the way to late spring, but that's not a problem, I hope. Nothing of note happened this year, and quite frankly, I haven't done all that much either. I'm really rusty when it comes to DF, so I might have done much less than I would when I was in my "prime". Eh, everyone is alive, at least. Except that one guy.

Notes and suggestions:
-The military needs outfitting. I've ordered some iron stuff, but we've ran out of materials;
-I've made an atom smasher for sentient creature corpses, but haven't put the dumping zone yet  :P
-The mayor lives in a hovel. I was supposed to fix that, but I didn't feel like it;
-Farming needs some attention. I've made a small farm with blueberries and bilberries aboveground, but we need cloth badly (apparently it's too cold to grow hemp);

Save file here!

AvolitionBrit

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Time for a wild ride
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The return of the thin white duke, throwing darts in lovers eyes

Drunken scholar

Salmeuk

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Quote
Someone has been making tons of giant corkscrews, probably in anticipation for a massive delivery of colossal wine bottles?

this exactly  :D

nice character, really liked the idea of a doctor more invested in the dead than the living.

underground crops, I never figured out how to process the modded ones? something something oreberries

the fortress is mostly just a gigantic ramp, so as long as we don't start cutting random pathways and staircases the place will remain fairly easy to navigate. right guys? right? *looks at every succession fortress ever*
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