And here's the promised update.
The Continuing Diary of Melbil 'Axebeard' Pulleyletters12th SlateThings seem to be going well so far. The restructuring of the workshop floor is being carried out diligently and I've changed everyone's sparring schedule to unarmed spars. While this will slow Stormaxe's advancement with an axe until everyone is sufficiently advanced in wrestling techniques, it should at least curb the number of accidents in the barracks.
Heh, look at me, writing like a true overseer. Truth is, I just fear for my life when I'm around Stormaxe. She looks like a dwarf that doesn't care whether it's her enemies or her sparring partner whose head she lops off.
21th SlateBLOODY HELLS. Nobles. A whole bunch of them. The Philosopher doesn't seem so bad even if she has decidedly disturbing tastes - she likes bugbears of all things - and I could even put up with the Tax Collector, but there's a Count and worst of all, a Hammerer with them too. I haven't prepared for them at all. I didn't have TIME to prepare. They'll just have to put up with whatever we currently have on hand.
23rd SlateOh no! Bomrek Oaramuses, one of our new arrivals, has suddenly gotten one of those weird moods just as he entered the fortress! We'll see what comes of it...
24th SlateI've plotted out what will be the nobles' bedrooms when they're done. Until then, they'll just have to do without, since we have no surplus rooms. The work goes infuriatingly slowly though, because the huge hauling backlog. Really, how did my predecessors expect to be able to carve out new rooms when the rock isn't even cleaned out from some of the old ones?
26th SlateWell, Bomrek has taken a large bunch of obsidian, some copper and bismuth bronze bars, some of our very short supply of rock crystals (I should really have a word with him about that later) and some goblin bones and went to work in a craftsdwarf's workshop. I hope he'll actually create something useful, or at least pretty to look at.
2nd FelsiteBomrek's creation is complete. He calls it Witheredsilver the Continent of Sorcery. Where it gained that name, I don't know, but I'm beginning to suspect that like fortresses, such grand artifacts are also named by committee, except in this case, the committee is all in the creator's mind. It would go a long way in explaining the obvious madness of these dwarves.
Surprisingly, Witheredsilver has absolutely zero images on it. Just a lot of spikes and bands. It actually looks like a pretty good weapon, were it not made of stone.
12th FelsiteSome idiot left a rotting chunk of whatever next to the main staircase. Now we're all choking on miasma. If I find out who it was, I'll build a nice damp jail just to throw him in it.
17th FelsiteMy squad leader Urdim has become known as a legendary wrestler! I am honored to be working under such a renowned champion.
1st HematiteEverything is going along rather nicely. The nobles are well provided for, although the Count and his Consort keep seeking me out in the most inopportune moment to ramble on about their "substandard burial plots". What's it to them, I ask? It's not like they'll care where they are once they're good and dead.
We're still tripping over rocks wherever we go, but at least some areas are clear now. I was distressed to find out about a rather physically impossible pile of stone tucked away in what I thought to be a janitor's closet on the workshop floor. An immense number of perfectly usable stones, mostly microcline, were piled on top of each other and compressed into a tight space using no doubt some arcane techniques, as I can't imagine how it was possible otherwise. Nonetheless, I ordered the pile cleaned up and everything but the microcline thrown into the demonic pit. I hope the Dwellers Below appreciate a rain of stone. Heh.
My wrestling training is coming along nicely as well. I recently reached Elite status, which I am told signifies the beginning of my professional military training. So far, I found it refreshingly different from the boring menial tasks I was used to in my previous home, even if Stormaxe disturbs me greatly. Were it possible, I would have her on constant duty just to make sure she doesn't try some kind of powerful secret wrestling move and tear someone in half with her bare hands.
9th HematiteA human diplomathas arrived, alone. A HUMAN diplomat. Apparently, in previous years, the humans sent a hobgoblin representative with their caravan to us and while my predecessors' records all agree that she was perfectly civilized and agreeable, I wasn't looking forward to the presence of one of dwarvenkind's sworn enemies within our fortress. It looks like the gods have decided to spare me that.
14th HematiteJust after the human left, a Dyansauri diplomat and caravan arrived. I don't know them very well, but I hope they have things we need. Especially wood. We are in short supply and it seems our woodworkers have adapted fully to underground life and now can't work above ground without heavy vomiting. There's an underground tree farm set up, but the trees there haven't matured yet and we need wood as fast as possible.
17th HematiteThis is the worst day of my life. First, one of our peasants gets stuck outside because he was looting the corpses of fallen siegers (an accepted practice at this fortress, or so I am told) when a herd of zombie muskoxes (muskoxen?) arrived. Then my squad is called to defeat the undead abominations, but most of my squadmates are nowhere to be found. And the the human caravan arrives, with the hobgoblin representative I've been told about, right in the way of the zombies. I hope we can reach them in time.
Oh, and a goblin warband just ambushed the humans. Wonderful.
24th HematiteBoth the zombies and goblins have been dealt with and I almost missed all the action. I arrived with the others to see Urdim fight the zombies all by himself and immediately went to his aid. We were still fighting when Stormaxe arrived, I guess not wanting to miss a fight. Even unarmed she flung the beasts a good few hundred feet with every blow. We were really outclassed. I hope I never have to face her in combat.
25th HematiteApparently I've gained some fame as a wrestler. I am being hailed as some kind of champion now. Pretty stupid, if you ask me. Anyway, I think I can safely start weapons training now.
13th MalachiteWhile things are going pretty smoothly on the restructuring front, my attention has been drawn to a so far unnoticed problem. With the advent of the dwarven economy in our fortress, many dwarves have been made homeless simply because they couldn't afford the lavish rooms on our housing level. These dwarves are now sleeping outside on the ground of the barracks and getting underfoot during sparring, not to mention the danger of freezing. I ordered a new set of lower quality rooms to be dug out of the rock, but even so there will be a few who won't be able to afford an actual room. I can't think of any solution other than moving the barracks inside the fortress and constructing a number of beds for use by the homeless. This will expose the military to the dangers of cave adaptation, but there's simply no other solution.
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OOC: Summer was a pretty boring, if productive season. I'm almost finished with the workshop floor and most of the rubble is cleaned away as well. Next will be the forge floor (though that's already pretty well organized and just needs a dedicated ore stockpile and to put the output stockpiles closer to the forges) and if I still have time, the housing level (which needs a LOT of new low-cost housing due to the economy). My dwarf is coming along nicely, although he doesn't seem to want to spar with an axe now that he's a legendary wrestler. Oh well, he's still awesome either way. Next update will be either tomorrow or the day after that and depending on how long I get to play, might be my last. This one lasted for the second half of spring and most of summer already and I might have more time for the next one.
Oh yeah - my computer crashed in the middle of my first try at this update just after I dug out the nobles' rooms and I had to restart the whole thing from the previous save. Too bad, because THIS was the philosopher that came the first time:
I really wanted to greet the Frost Giant caravan with him. XD Maybe he would have found someone special...
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Topic: (Succession) Uthgurzuntir - Glory for the Queen! (New sign ups!) (Read 15371 times)