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[Urist_McArathos]

The Premise

Mishosakam ("Beachfortunes") is a ☼MASTERWORK☼ Fortress with some of the more advanced features disabled (magic, gunpowder, and a fair number of the new workshops).  I had to reinstall windows and lost the fort I was working on, and decided to try this mod while I wait.

The fort has no skilled dwarves at embark; all peasants.

The Embark

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The Story

"I'm telling you, this is it!" Doren slammed down his mug, wiping a thick mustache of foam from his upper lip.  "We're going to be haulers till we die if we don't take a risk.  We just need a few thousand, but together we can manage it!"  He looked excitedly at the six dwarves gathered around the table with him.  Around them the dull roar of the drinking hall continued, flatware clattering against heavy stone tables, and the chatter, laughter, and shouting of dwarves enjoying their evening meal and company.

"Doren," a scratchy-voiced female spoke, shifting in her seat as her eyes darted from one companion to the next, "our lives aren't that bad, though.  I mean, heading off to found a new colony is," she paused, her voice lowering as she leaned across the table closer to him, "well, it's suicide.  You know how many dwarves die out there from wild monsters."

"Orcs, goblins, fell monsters of the night," a muscular dwarf's nasally voice listed off the problems as though they were taking notes.  He jabbed his thumb towards the female.  "Asmel's right; we're not even considering the risk of frost giants.  None of us so much as knows how to swing a pick."

"Oh, come on, Zefon!  You're a strong, burly dwarf.  You could mine as well as anyone in the guild!"  Doren looked over his companions wildly, his excitement nearly a palpable energy in the air itself.  "We're not a bunch of useless vagrants, we're dwarves!  We're descended from survivors, honorable ancestors, achievers!  This is our chance to prove ourselves to our leaders, our employers, our families, even ourselves.  We can find a better life, I know we can."

There was a long silence as they all looked around.  The life of a hauler WAS boring, true enough.  There were no guilds to ensure good pay or steady work, either.  Jokes were made about some jobs and their limited utility, but even they were protected and had a purpose.  Haulers were just whatever unskilled peasants were lying about that weren't fit for military duty.  A colony of their own meant a chance to start fresh, a chance to become someone.  More, a chance to be famous, to practically be nobility in their own right!

One by one they nodded, and threw a purse of coins into the center of the table; their life savings, all told, still would only buy so much.  Doren beamed as he added his to the stack last.  "Well, I guess you all want to know where we're going."  He took out a parchment and unrolled it, pointing to a small peninsula far to the east.  "Here it is, the Mysterious Swamp."

"What's so mysterious about it?"

"It's never been explored by dwarves," Doren explained, tapping his finger on a point.  "I managed to get my brother to talk to a surveyor from the Royal Society of Geologists; they said that what little they do know about the place is it's sandy, but there seems to be a clay deposit in the area, and possibly even iron ore.  Plus, it's by the ocean; there's always vast deposits of limestone and chalk near the seas, right?"

"You think we could be a steel foundry?"

"Don't think so narrow!  We could, sure, but we'll have pottery and glass, and who knows what kind of wealth from below, and we'd have the ocean's bounty!  Fish and pearls, and whaling, and we could trade with humans and elves that sail by ship.  There's no ports in the entire kingdom!  Once we build a road and a pier, we'll be a prominent stopping point for every merchant vessel to sail around the peninsula and onwards."  He placed his hands on the parchment and stood, looking over the table.  "I promise you, this is our great chance.  I'll go start procuring supplies; the rest of you study up on whatever trade you want to take up once we get there; we don't have time for any real training, but at least you'll be ready to start work once we arrive!"

They nodded and raised their mugs.  Doren grabbed his and raised it as well.  "To our Fortunes, may we find them on the beach!"

"To Beachfortunes!"

[Greyejoy]

I'm looking forward to seeing this play out. Also, nice prologue.

[Urist_McArathos]

First Impressions

The wagon groaned to a halt in the thick, wet soil.  Doren hopped down from the bench and strode through the dense trees and plant growth towards the ridge.  "There it is," he cried, pointing to the south.  "The beach!  We're here!"  The others murmured as the descended from the last wagon; they had two more, but one had to be abandoned on the way after a goblin ambush.  The other had been stuck in a mire when they were first going through the swamp.  The odd buzz of insects was heard, along with the low crash of waves washing on the shore.  The frothy surf rolled over the wet sand, and lazily slid back into the sea.  Doren beamed, and took in a deep breath.  "You smell that, friends?"

"Smells like old feet."  Udil, another of the burlier ones, rummaged through the back of the wagon. 

"I think it's more like rotten eggs," Zefon offered as he pulled a scroll from his vest.

"No!"  Doren turned around, marching towards the wagon.  "No no, it's our freedom!  It's our destiny, forged by our own hands rather than uncaring fate."

Asmel hopped out of the back of the wagon with an armload of picks.  "Destiny sure smells a lot like a bog."

"Don't be so literal."  Doren walked over to Zefon and looked over the scroll with him.  "So, Chief Architect, ready to start digging?"

"Oh, yes certainly.  We've been planning how to start mining for weeks now.  I'm pretty sure we've got it."

"You're sure this will work?  Everyone I talked to said there's bound to be an aquifer this close to the ocean, especially if we're in a swamp."  Doren looked about them; they were definitely in a swamp, of course.  There were pools of murky bog water all about them, and thick growths of bushes, shrubs, and trees.  The smell was something to get used to, but at least they were here.  "Well, get to it then, I'm going to take stock of our supplies before we start inside."  The last two dwarves, females named Mafol and Zuglar, were unloading supplies while the miners went off to dig according to Zefon's crude plans.  "What survived the trip?"

"Um..." the skinnier one, Mafol he believed (they both looked so alike he could swear they were sisters, though they denied it), "we saved the preserved meat and the drink.  We should have enough to last for months, if we can keep it safe from all this moisture.  Some of the stone made it, but most of it was too heavy and bulky, so we'll have to manage it until the miners hit bedrock.  Let's see...we tore up the other wagon for timber, and we have some ropes, and the bags of seeds, and the picks, your axe, and..." she trailed off mumbling.  She looked to Zuglar, who simply shrugged.  "I guess that's it, except for the livestock.  We've got the cows, the sheep, the dogs, a few chickens, that one cat, and the two horses from this wagon."

"That's it?  Just food, drink, seeds, and some rope!?"  Doren lept into the wagon, searching.  "What about the crossbows?  The tools, and cloth, and leather?"  The clattering of boards echoed out of the wagon and suddenly Doren appeared at the back, staring down at them aghast.  "What about the damned plaster, and bandages, and...and blankets!?"

"Lost it in the swamp.  This is it."

Doren sighed, and climbed down.  He picked up his axe from the ground, and shook his head.  "Well, we better get to it if we're going to make it.  I'll start cutting more wood."

[Hugo_The_Dwarf]

Writing skills are amazing, Just how you can explain in detail what the landscape is and able to personalized each dwarf.