Early WinterThe cold period of the year has arrived. Normally I would be worried about it but seeing that we are in a warm climate and have stockpiled seeds, food and booze to last us through Winter, there is no reason to. That said, I have begun the completion of a new project after the stockpile. The grand bedroom plan. No forumite under my watch will go without a proper room and furnishing. As such massive amounts of stone are to be mined by our legendary miners Imic and Tsiru. We are burrowing down long-term here.
What surprises me the most, however, is the fact that there has been no notice of activity from the Necrothreader tower. Nothing at all. It is like the calm before the storm, and that’s never good news. Thoughts of dedicating myself to the military and leaving the administrative duties to somebody else continue to field my mind.
I fiddle around with my battle axe, grinding and oiling it up. One of the few moments of respite I have from the constant talking by either Tsiru or that Erin fellow. I never thought there could be somebody worse than Tsiru before I met him. I’m completely convinced he’s a nutjob to the core. It’s a miracle he has a wife. Must be crazy too. I wonder why the council sent him to me. Is it a case of genius in madness like the Sprin of stories or maybe just a madman.
He does have some interesting ideas, but most of them fall flat at execution. Not to mention his convoluted methods sometimes. One of those included using flint at the edge of an arrowhead to light it on fire when it’s fired and something else I couldn’t put my head around. Why would anybody think of that when we could just oil the arrows and light them on fire? There’s no need to add any fancy mechanisms to it.
There is no sign of the guardians here as well. Tsiru and Erin tell me that they are close to finding leads, but I’m not so sure myself. One’s an enthusiastic fool while the other is just plain crazy. Can I trust them? Do I have a choice? There must be a solution to the problem that isn’t immediately seen. Does that solution even lie within me? I bring a jug of booze to my mouth and take a big swig of it. It’s Winter. It’s the period of waiting. I will wait and see.
Late WinterThere is never an idle moment in this fortress. There is always hauling of stone. Hauling, hauling and some more hauling with the noticeable exceptions of mining and building, things also related to stone. At this point I stopped caring about it. It’s something that must be done and is being done. When I decided to pay a visit to our resident carpenter TheFlame52, it was a rather impressive visit. He had created a masterpiece chair!
When I swung around for the second time a few days later, I was in a rather good mood. When I saw what he had created I just couldn’t help myself but lavish him with praise. A masterpiece bed made of cherry wood and looking sturdy enough to be able to house an elephant.
When on the third visit there was yet another masterpiece chair, I was getting really suspicious, but nonetheless put it to the work of a master.
But on the fourth visit and the third now masterpiece chair I just couldn’t hold it in anymore. I must know how he kept pushing out such masterpieces!
“TheFlame52.” I look at him and flash him a serious look. His equally wooden look gives me a terse nod, puts his saw down and faces me, wiping grime off his forehead, now littered instead with wood powder. “I must know. How do you keep producing such quality craftsmanship on a regular basis? I thought you a simple carpenter at first, but over the past year something must have happened. A genius unlocked? A new technique developed?”
TheFlame52 leans on his workshop, making sure he doesn’t cut himself on the saw and then looks at me for a few moments before closing his eyes and nodding. “I knew this would come to light eventually. I do not try to hide it because I wish for the best in our new home. And for that we need highest quality things.” He starts walking around the big new workshop room I had ordered built. Fully equipped enough for four independent carpenters.
“I see a spirit. It guides me. Tells me where to draw the chalk, when to stop cutting and how to do things in ways I never thought before. It is as if a master carpenter is being my assistant. For all I know it might actually be. I have no idea what this spirit is. It is able to freely change its form. Most of the time it takes the form of a forumite I don’t recognize, but I think that’s because I’d be most comfortable with it. I tried probing it about what it is a few times, but every time I did that, he suddenly disappears for a few days, so I stopped. What I don’t understand though is why you don’t know. I told Tsiru. I thought he’d tell you about it.”
A look of relief flashes through TheFlame52’s face as he lets the beans spill. It seems the matter of the spirit weighs greatly on his mind and he wouldn’t mind talking to people about it. “Tsiru knows of this, does he now? He must have forgotten to write it down to tell me and then completely forgotten about it, haha…ha. Regardless, you’ve been doing a very good job, and believe me when I tell you that you are also a master carpenter. A spirit can teach you, but you’re the one putting it into practice. Alright, I’m continuing with my rounds. Dismissed.” He salutes and continues working on his new product, satisfied at the short break, as I leave.
Tsiru knew of this and didn’t tell me? The feeling of him being untrustworthy encroaches upon my mind. I cannot trust him. I can’t trust good ‘ol enthusiastic Tsiru after being together for so long? Tsiru cannot be trusted. He knows things and does not tell me. Tsiru. Tsiru. Tsiru. Untrustworthy. Tsiru. Tsiru. Betrayer. Tsiru.
A hand flies towards me and punches me square in the face. Immediately I get into battle position, ready to lash out at the enemy. I take a moment to orient myself and then am confused when nothing is in front of me. I look around me and see nobody. Blood is flowing from my nose now. I look at my right hand and see some blood on it too. Blood. Armok is the god of blood. Armok.
I’m convinced now. I cannot lead this fortress any longer. Spring is just coming around. Somebody else needs to take the administrative duties. Armok already has his claws in my head. I knew something was wrong with it being so quiet. I see a forumite pass through from the stockpile. I think it’s one of the migrants. I pull the forumite aside with more force than I wanted to use.
“You. Yes, you. You know who I am. I’m Apiks. I’m the overseer. Starting from tomorrow you’re the overseer. I’ll take care of the military. You lead the fortress, alright? Don’t ask any questions. I’ll make an official announcement tomorrow. Better prepare. I’ll give you a document of things that you should keep in mind. You can come for me for advice, but you must be the one leading this fortress.” I squeeze the forumite’s arms more. “No questions. No questions. Now go. You’re absolved of duties for today. Go and prepare.”
I leave and head straight for the newly assigned barracks, the former dormitory. I need to clear my mind. I need to practice with my axe. I need the battle calm.
Well my turn is done. That took a bit longer than I expected, but it’s done!
Here is the savegame. There are some things for the next overseer to keep in mind which I’ll list now.
We need to get a forge going for actual weapons. The military has to be improved as well. Things are quite stable right now, but do keep an eye at the food and booze. Some more workshop areas need to be built as well. The sleeping rooms have extra space for more forumites, but eventually (probably around the second migrant wave) you’ll want to expand them. I’ve put the furniture at random in the room to give them the “lived in” feeling.
There are quite a few people to be forumited, so please do so when you get the appropriate forumites or create them. Here are the folks up for forumiting.
Rühn
I'll take a male hunter. Traits matter more than his hunting skill. With a peaceful embark I might have to hunt underground.
Nickname: Rühn (ü is alt+129 but I have no idea if there is a trick to enter in game)
Profession: NiNja Ambush
Preferred Traits: Spatial Sense, Focus, Agility, Willpower
Imic
Make him the banhammerer. Enable Engineering to him. Disciple of Erin Quill. In the army. Miner and mason.
Carefulrogue
A spear dwarf. Traits tending towards respect. Male, if possible.
Pikachu17
I'd like a Forumite, with as many of the following as possible.
Named "Pikachu17"
Profession of Zealot of X, where X is her/his god. 'pikachu17' will always work for that god
A really cool god to worship
hammerdwarf, so s/he can bash the zombie's brains in.
A grudge, so s/he has someone to pick on
Lord_lemonpie
Name: (Dr.) Lemonpie
Skills: any medical skill or any noble
Profession name: "Certified" Surgeon or "Legitimate" Lord
4maskwolf
No specification on forumite.
If I missed anybody, I apologize. Please say if I did.
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Topic: NecroThreat IV: Fortress for BFEL, God of Necromancy (Read 517383 times)