Mid-spring
Blutwurst cracked his knuckles loudly and reached his blood covered fingers for the tablet with his next work order on it. He'd been the butcher here at Cavebrands for long enough and the work orders he received were always pouring in. It'd been months since he'd bothered to even look around the place other than to stagger from his workshop to his bedroom, with occasional trips to the dining hall for a drink. The sheer volume of meat he had processed was staggering but lately he'd noticed that things were beginning to pile up. His hand came up empty and he realized that for the first time there was nothing to butcher. It was almost a disturbing thought but his gaze swept across the counter top of his workshop. A counter top that was loaded with bones and gibbets of putrid meat, in addition to a neat pile of cut meat off on one side. Even some of the pieces near the bottom were starting to turn a little grey around the edges. Would no one come and take them away?
He stuck his head briefly outside his workshop and saw a gaggle of kids, one of them apparently giddy and shouting. "Hahah, I'm in charge now! No more shall dwarves suffer!"
He'd gone on for some time while Blutwurst cleaned his fingers with one of his skinning knives that he always kept on his person. It wasn't too long before Cheddarius himself swung around and cuffed the lad strongly upside the head.
"No more of that talk! Let the rest of us get on with business."
He looked around and spotting the butcher watching strode over to him. "You! You're now appointed leader of this little hole, may the gods have mercy on us."
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Log of Blutwurst
And I thought my butcher's shop was bad! The amount of rotten meat in this place is absolutely disgusting, makes my shop look like a neat little bistro or something.
I took a quick trip through the place and I must have seen the mouldering corpses of at least two score dwarves! What by Armok's beardless chin happened here?
On second thought, I think I have some good ideas. Some of the previous overseer's must have been inept. Or daft. Or something. The northern half of the brook's bone dry and they've diverted it all into one of the underground caverns without realizing that eventually, it could flood our entire fortress. Sure it might take five or ten years or so, but still.
Another daft project was the upper walls, left sadly unfinished, and even those sections that are done are woefully unsecure. Just about anything could traipse up through the gaps left.
I suppose I spotted some of the culprits lurking outside our shut gates and slaughtering our animals. A pack of goblins. Nasty brutes.
Well, I'm taking over for now. Let's see if there's not something that can be done. First things first... who the bloody he... No. Just no. I'm re-assigning work orders. There will be no new digging, no smoothing of floors under the rotting corpses. And ... Grrrr... Lady, and I had words. She told me she's got responsibilities. I told her my skinning knife would work on her just as well as any other beast around here. I think she got the point and she's now helping to clean up this mess. Looking over our stockpile records it seems we've got more than enough food for now so I've order the farms idled as well. Those that I could find. Our farmers were perpetually sneaking off trying to plant Lor knows what down in the hidden farms in the depths.
I've designated coffins to be built so we can at least begin to clean up this charnel house.
No one in their right mind would ever want to come here with it looking li...
Holy... migrants being chased over the hillsides by the goblins.
We opened the gates. Didn't know which lever to use so we just tore them down for now. The whole entryway will need redesigning anyways. It seems the goblins charged towards the breach but after a few were struck down by our traps the rest fled just in time for the migrants to make the fortress. Well, with a few apparent exceptions, may their souls find peace.
Our population is up to thirty something now and things are beginning to get done.
Anyway... What? WHO BY THE STONES HAS BEEN PUTTING ALL MY HARD WORK OUT IN A FOOD STOCKPILE DIRECTLY IN THE SUN? NO! Aargh... food stockpiles belong indoors where it's cooler. No wonder those plants have been wilting and my meat's gone all rancid!
21st of Felsite
Ok, I've had a few good drinks now and I'm feeling a little better. I'm not sure if I should curse or pity the former overseers. At one point I'm sure this place wasn't so messed up. I've no idea what happened. Or when, but let's try to move on. Let's see... defenses...
Apparently our only forges are in the depths. Currently blocked by a beast of a blind cave ogre that has been slowly but surely decimating the dog/dwarf population of the place. Rinularban. That name sends shudders through half the fortress. One of our minders, Thob I think, or something like that, has been crying out in the stairwell but has fallen strangely silent. The ogre couldn't find him but he dehydrated because none of us could reach him. Strangely, once he was dead Cheddarius went to see what he could do about it. He almost bested the beast, scoring significant hits.
Before he had his head crushed in.
That drew the attention of some war dogs in the area who went to help out. They did more damage before one of them had a leg torn off and was then ripped in half.
It was around then that the ogre decided he'd (or was it a she?) had better finish us off if it wanted to have any peace at all. Up the main stairs it came terrorizing the fortress. As a mass the dogs lept on it and we, sheepishly followed suit. I think it took nearly a full score of us to finally lay the beast low, at a loss of many dogs, and two more dwarves, Urist and ... uh... some migrant lass. Don't really know her name. Can't be bothered to look. It'll go on a coffin somewhere I'm sure. I hardly care at this point.
The slaying of the ogre was a high point of the season since it allowed us to return to our forges and finally claim the adamantine weapon and armor that had been laying trapped down there.
I shall begin sealing off the myriad entrances into the underground caves in the hopes that that will not be a repeat. Cutting a dwarf off from his forges and gear is bad news.
((I'm working on this, but it's slow... real slow. Looking at ways to solve the river issue, but it may take a while and, to be honest, security is almost non-existant. Besides, the whole squad thing is annoying as tarnation and I can't seem to get guys to equip stuff. Sigh. I miss the old system I was familiar with. So don't expect a lot of military stuff to happen, if I can get away with it. Tons of stuff I've never seen too. But things are soooooo cluttered. Seriously... has no one heard of bins?
You know... large wooden boxes that you pile crap in?))
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Topic: Cavebrands (Read 66571 times)