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[Mr.Dwarf]

Hi guys,
decided to post a story about the current fort i'm working on. I always give up on forts in the 3rd or 4th year, but i'm hoping by writing a story, and posting it up here, i'll keep playing, and stretch my literary muscles so to speak. Hope you might enjoy it, and feel free to suggest anything or critique etc.

28th Limestone, Early Autumn, 1051
it was in the summer of 1050 when i was called to the Archalchemist's chambers. As a low ranking Alchemy student, this was an unprecedented honour for me. "Sigun" he greeted me from behind his great stone table, loaded with retorts,evaporators,urns,pestles,and all manner of strange alchemical equipment and ingredients. "Please, have a seat"  he gestured with his hands in front of the table, So  I pulled up a stuffed alligator and sat down.
" You are of course wondering as to why I called you here tonight" he stated.
"Yes, I-" I began to say,
"wondering is of course your duty. All alchemists must constanly question the world, it is the only way to discover, to learn new things, and ultimately, aqcuire for The Theatre!"
The Theatre of Vessels was the name of our dwarven empire, stretching across two continents with many cities and fortressess under their domain. I always thought it sounded strangely foreboding, as if there was something sinister going on behind the scenes. And also very stupid. Still, good money for the philosophers, who can argue the meaning of the name untill the wine runs out. He gabbled on like this for some time, while i politely nodded and occasionally puffed on my pipe for emphasis. Eventually he got down to the purple helmet of the issue.
"Sigun, although it is your duty to ask why, sometimes you must accept that higher ranking alchemists are simply more learned than you, and to understand the answers to your questions you would need decades of focussed knowledge, and sometimes you must do their bidding without initially knowing why. This is one of those occasions."
Oh No
" You have been given a grant from the University in of about 1200 Solars"
Hold on, this sounds promising. 1200 gold coins is a lot of ale,wine,rum,beer, I'm not fussy.
"You will assemble a team of six dwarves"
Still Waiting
" and establish a new Research Station in the Forest sixteen hundred miles from here, to learn the mysteries of the stars"
Outstanding.
"Sir, that is a death sent-"
"A great honour. I know. But one which you are ready for, Sigun."
"No sir, I'm sayin-"
"Why me?"
"Yes sir, exactly, why me? there must be much more qualifi-"
" Our calculations and Haruspications do not lie. You may not feel worthy, My dear Sigun, but the formulae never fail"
"But sir-"
"Go now Sigun. You leave tomorrow. there is a lot of preparation for you to do, and no time to do it"
( The next few pages of the notebook are filled with quickly scribbled calculations for assassination plots, boat expeditions to human settlements,and a flying machine. They all begin with the number 1200 and end in dwarven swearwords)
Well, looks like I'm going. Rushed around all night organising food and supplies, and trying to find skilled dwarves. I found six to come with me straight away, but i've broken the rules that the Archalchemist layed down and hopefully many more will follow when their current work finishes. Its quite overcrowded here so many people are intrigued with the idea of settling. The Archalchemist came to say farewell at the gate, and to tell me the name of the Research Station: Skytorch.
Since then 2 seasons have passed, and I have been much too busy to keep regular entries. A moment of peace before bed now reminded me that i should be keeping a record of the Station. I picked out a secluded section of forest with unthreatening wildlife and a mild climate. They didnt specify where in the forest i had to build, and i wasnt going to make things harder for myself was I? In the 2 seasons that have passed we have received two waves of immigrants, and are up to a population of seventeen. I have spent the 2 seasons building living areas, food storage, crafting areas, the basics of Dwarven civilisation. I was in the process of our second attempt to set up a defensive wall when my first "inspiration" hit me. The first step to studying the stars should be to get as close to them as possible. We shall build a tower to scrape the dome of the sky! Once I'm up there, I will begin my studies. It doesn't sound like the best Idea, but it gives us something to work towards untill I become more well versed in my works. I've resigned myself to this task, and maybe I can actually do something with my life, leave something behind when i shuffle off the mortal coil. We shall see.

[Mr.Dwarf]

9th Granite, Early Spring, 1052
The Traders came and left in winter, taking with them many stone decorations I had set some of the new arrivals to work crafting, and in return have left us with a plethora of food, ropes, bags, barrels, leathers, and many other useful tools and raw materials. The wall which will make up the base of our tower is nearing completion. The south and west walls are done, with work beginning on the eastern wall now. I have also decided we will dig underground to mirror the tower, thus preventing us from spreading too far out and damaging the natural world, in case we need natural underground formations for future projects. I have also worked about starting a millitia, gathering up some useless dwarves and taking a couple of chaps i had found out had some millitary experience, and setting them to work training while we build them armour and training weapons. Not sure what theyre exactly doing. They always seem to be attending seminars, standing around watching one of them duck and roll or hit a wooden block with his hand. very strange. Hopefully they'll do better when they get some swords and spears in their hands.