Year 112, Malachite 12
We were pulled from our work today - myself and Olon digging a shaft in search of coal as a great horned owl wheeled overhead - as "Doc" Udizcatten called out. "Travellers! Travellers approach!"
What?
Yes, I'm talking to my journal again. That's how it works, I have told y-
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Very well.
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You're sure they were headed this way?
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Yes, that's true. Otherwise, they'd likely be suicidal fools- PAHAH, who am I kidding? They probably got
lost.
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Yes, we'll be finishing a few extra rooms.
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{{Owner sighs}}
That was a ludicrous meeting over a dwarf(or dwarfs) that likely didn't even see us. We'll be heading out to lead them into the halls, of course - they likely need a good mug of ale after... whatever journey they faced.
I, however, am heading back to the mines with Olon to finish the exploratory shaft.
- - -
As I sit here eating a meal of biscuits, I notice that there are quite a few new arrivals - presumably, they are the lot that "Doc" saw cresting the western hills.
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Introductions have been exchanged, so now I record what I have seen.
ouchFikod, of the Konosbakust family - that is, "Brassurge". She spoke mostly of dingoes, and of how she'd love to have a sterling silver
statue of dingoes. We all have our obsessions, I suppose. Somewhat striking is her
lack of a left arm. She's been tentatively given gem-cutting and gem-setting duties. In the meantime, she can still help us get things settled in their proper places.
Feb ōsustber - "Tameearths", in the common human tongue. She seems obsessed with war and destruction, preventing peace. It was when she stated outright that she has no respect for peace and harmonious existence that I decided to feign illness merely to shut her up. Before that, however, I learned that she quite likes aluminum and chrysoprase - and seems to have quite the towering greed. She's been assigned to clothier duty.
The son of the Medenletmos family, calling himself "Imic" - an unusual name, to be sure, but workable. He seems, on the surface, a cold fellow, but it is clear that he is merely trying to conceal his emotions. His fear of fire snakes knows no bounds. He did let slip his affinity for nickel silver - and, with his gargantuan ego, likely thinks it a matter of course that we will all provide such for him. He has taken over as mason, freeing Stukos for forge work. He, surprisingly, is married to Feb. They've brought their child, Datan, who is an annoying little daemon bent on telling every lie she can.
Kulet, of the Udillaltur clan. Apparently their name is "Lanterncovered" in the language of humans. We spoke of rose gold and anvils before he began prattling about how "worthless" introspection is - and how those who spend even a moment on it must be "fools". I quickly bade him luck and moved on to the next newcomer.
The son of the Oliliden clan - that being "Valleypaddled" in the words of the hairless apes. He introduced himself as "Ironfang" - quite an odd name. Apparently he is married to Fikod, arriving here together - along with their
two offspring. This is not a bloody childcare centre! Aban has no skills to speak of, save for passing familiarity with basic fighting techniques. He has an admiration for mail shirts - perhaps he'll be trained to fight. I do not envy him that. Their children, Adil and Lokum, are seven and two years.
This talk of names has reminded me of something I found early in my readings. Alas, I cannot seem to recall it.
- - -
The rest of Malachite passed uneventfully. We still need coal to bootstrap our metalworking industry, and we have yet to find any. We did, however, locate water-laden stone immediately below our mining shafts. Urdim has an idea on how to safely break through, involving liberal use of pumps and overpressure. Personally, I think it best to simply wait for the bloody thing to freeze - much safer, despite the bite of the cold air.
Speaking of cold air, a snowstorm has suddenly hit us - early in Galena! Blasts of snow pelt anyone who ventures near the entrance as the cold wind saps what heat we had.
Ludicrous snowstorm and drown-rock aside, we have dug up quite a few gems. None of especial note, but the mines hold promise of further finds. I, for one, am hoping for plume agates. Wondrous little gems they are.
- - -
I was in the dining hall, enjoying some rest before working on additional wheelbarrows, when Sazir's voice cut through from the kitchen - "We're out of bloody pots?!" Hopefully "Imic" can carve some pots before the brewery plants are devoured by vermin.
- - -
That works.
- - -
We're nearing the end of Galena, now.
That's nice to see, although it is unlikely to last.
- - -
Autumn has arrived, or so claims the calendar. The air has again become quite cold, but that only registered after the four of us finished digging the extra storage rooms and returned to the dining hall.
Another thing that suddenly registered in my mind at that time was the addition of a lever jutting from the ground near the western wall. Apparently Urdim installed it there. He claims that a single pull of the lever will block the entrance tunnel entirely.
I hope he's right.
- - -
10th Limestone, 112
The caravan we were promised arrived, hailing itself by horn a scant few moments ago.
Surprisingly, Fikod is the liaison's child. She seems oddly unenthusiastic about Bomrek's - that's the liaison - arrival.
- - -
5th Sandstone
While we were entertaining the caravan, Sazir spotted more people headed in this direction from the valleys to the northwest. They hailed themselves as migratory labourers.
One, Kib Shemokil, has skill in... gutting fish. That's all, as far as trades go. Apparently, he was quite the negotiator back in his home hillock. He'll likely be given whatever spare tasks are lying around. I, for one, am pleased to see that he is another who sees the value of examining one's self. He claims to have a fondness for pig tail goods - fabric and paper - as well as gold. Right proper librarian, he is.
Ustuth Etescilob. There's not much to be said about him. Aside from seeing knowledge as somewhat unimportant, he's the average dwarf. He does have a good intellect despite this, perhaps making up for what he claims is a "very bad" intuition. He has a fondness for pink, shields, aquamarine, and tables. Thankfully, he has an active sense of humour, matching his slow and leisurely movements. He has experience with blacksmithing, so he has been assigned to that duty in place of Stukos.
Tobul Semortosid, Ustuth's wife. They have
bloody fourteen offspring why would you do thatShe has no experience with any trades - I imagine she's been too busy
slowly waddling around while
bloated with the results of incessant stupidity. Interestingly, "Ironfang" is one of her
far too damn many children. I can only assume that her repeated reproduction is related to her lack of patience - and perhaps to her affinity for lignite and lead.
Rīsen Astróth is a daughter of Tobul and Ustuth. She has some surprising wisdom for someone who has yet not been allowed to "leave the nest".
Zaneg Melbilrinal, another son of Tobul and Ustuth. His name is "Tomeivy" in the human-centric tongue. He's quite the annoying little sprog, with no compunctions against cheating others. Any and all would do well to be wary of him.
In all, three more sets of hands and feet to help us build the library we've been told to make - and...
Ustuth came bearing a letter.
As I understand, it gave detailed instructions on the construction we are to undertake. "Library" is not good enough for our idiot queen, and we were already forbidden from building it underground. We're to use specific materials... Steel walls on the lower four floors, Sazir has told me. I stopped him there - steel will take us some time, especially when making a structure of this scale.
I must get back to the caravan - we are still preparing what they have requested in "trade" for necessary supplies.
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Edit: As a note, you can easily check whether a website tries to force javascript usage by simply disabling javascript in your browser.
Edit 2: Ironfang, you've been given the Grower labour - I assume that this is what you meant by "farmer". To be honest, your post was a bit difficult to decipher... I gathered that you wanted a farmer, and that you want to know if we're on a tundra/taiga biome. To the latter, I'm not sure - I don't recall what biomes were listed on the embark screen.
Is there a way to check the biomes from in-game? I do have dfhack(love the job duplication, and the DT-like labour manager).
Edit 3: I can say that this is not tundra - the snow mostly melts during summer, there have been aboveground plants, there are trees, and the terrain is full of hills.
Author
Topic: Cloisterphrases, a library-focused tower fortress. (Read 2281 times)