I have been doing more of building a fort and then retiring it, use Legends mode and Adventurer to add stuff to my story and then unretire the fort and continue the story line. That way I feel like I am not just fortress building but I am creating a world narrative over time, in many different locations. To my amazement, my fort Mobgem did extremely well with 1 year of no intervention by myself. Only thing funny was that the entire booze stock I left them was depleted. Do dorfs drink excessively when left to their own devices? It would not surprise me. There even was some new stuff in my stockpiles; coins of gold and silver, a small stringed instrument and a jug of acceptable quality. I retired my fort again for the second time last night, having completed a major part of the aquaduct system. Once more I turned my attentions to my adventurer, Bok.
I created this hero sparrow man named Bok. Sparrow men are my favorite besides dorfs, for obvious reasons. Bok is a master level biter. I hired this bird mercenary to do two things for me; 1) assassinate unwanted nobility in other settlements and, 2) steal instruments, which he sells to my broker dorf at bargain prices ("Prices so low, you can't say no!" Bok always screams at me).
I want my taverns to stand out, so I need good music at all times and at great cost. I made sure he is quite skilled in conversation, song and persuasion.
Last night, he visited "The Golden Cakes Tavern and Inn" in Silverhatchet, and spent the evening in song and dance, mingling amongst the locals. After sharing stories and rumors, Bok slept a couple hours in one of the back rooms of the inn. Just before sunrise, he pulled his usual spiel. The tavern contained a drunk human bard and a goblin dancer who seemed to care very little that he was there. Dancers in these regions care about drink and coin only, certainly not strange bird-men. Nothing stood between Bok and a grown wooden maple chest, containing two stunning instruments of excellent quality. For the beauty and craftsmanship the elves put into their grown wood containers, the imported locking mechanisms they use are quite horrendous and certainly no match for Bok's wing tips.
Bok slipped out the back door with instruments in tow, nobody the wiser. Taking flight, the trip to Mobgem is quick and easy for sparrow men, and Bok sold me the two stringed instruments for a small purse of gold coins my dorfs have been minting. I really don't get it, there is a ton of native gold to be found and Bok seems to greatly overestimate the value of my dorf coins, but when I have brought this up with him, he just mumbles about how they glisten in the sun and how they sparkle, and to mind my own business.
As good as the instrument acquisition business has been, Bok ran into a goblin last night that was not as friendly. Turns out "Beak_Bite_Attack" when said bite does not cause a syndrome, is quite weak. Bok was wounded badly in his right wing and ran, covered in blood. The goblin pursued and struck again. Bok ran again leaving a horrible trail of blood for a great distance. Before he reached his destination, the lair Threatgloves, Bok died from excessive bleeding of the wing.
Now I have to find me a new instrument thief, or consider making my own instruments. Both will most likely lead to either doom or great glory.