It turned to summer at Kelrithol, and Athson surveyed his work. A dining room, a farming area, bedrooms and food storage had all been carved out of the mountain. But their food stores ran low and they were out of drink. If the dwarves were to survive, they would need to work as fast and as quickly as they could to secure food.
Unfortunately for Athson, that would have to wait. The dwarves slept, unaware of how close their fortress was to starving. But this gave Athson some quiet time to think.
Urist would certainly have to work, expanding the fortress was an absolute necessity. Ral and Reg, the farmers, would of course be working as hard as they could to feed the dwarves. Iden and Led’s stone working will be needed to furnish the fortress, and to produce some tangible wealth. But Sodel and Limul, their woodworking wasn’t as important. The fortress had a strong stock of barrels and timber. Athson chose to send those two into the swamp to gather shrubs, plants, herbs, anything edible that could feed the fortress.
The food stores ran dangerously low, but the herbs and plants brought in lasted the dwarves until their first harvest. They celebrated the great harvest, but quickly picked the plump helmets, lest they rot in the ground. Athson ordered Iden to create a statue to commemorate the 12th of Malachite, when the first plump helmet sprouted out of the ground. The statue, made of sandstone, was placed in the entryway to remind all who lived there of the hardships the founders endured.
Shortly after the First Harvest began, a metal smith named Logem Stukosestil arrived in the swamp, carrying with him an anvil for which to do his craft, and an *adorable* little puppy by his side for company. He told the dwarves that he was sent by the King, to both check that Kelrithol still stood, and to work there as their blacksmith. They welcomed the dwarf with open arms, glad to have another helping hand. Unfortunately for Logem, who expected he would work his metal, he was drafted to do the butchers work. The Harvest was still in progress, and to ensure their survival Athson wanted as much food as he could get. The mules that bore their wagons into this swamp would be turned into food for the dwarves.
In the season of summer, the dwarves at Kelrithol turned their meager food stores into enough food to last them into winter, and beyond if their farming and plant gathering continued at it’s current pace.
Urist, who had been tasked by Athson to expand the main corridor, finished that job and then went carve out more bedrooms. As he dug, he breached a wall into a waterfall. The dwarves thought that the area around the waterfall was beautiful, and Athson had large rooms built nearby, and a statue built to be placed by the waterfall to praise it’s beauty.
Some dog gave birth to puppies, and the dwarves rejoiced. Athson commissioned a statue, saying that the puppies were the first new birth in Kelrithol, signifying the new life and energy that came from the Harvest. The statue was placed in the entryway, to remind all dwarves. To Athson, this was a message from the gods, saying that Kelrithol would last the winter. He ordered the Sodel and Limul, the woodcrafters, to stop picking plants to get back to make beds, to be placed in the new bedrooms Urist was digging.
The seasons turned the Autumn as the dwarves worked, and more animals gave birth. Urist struck silver while expanding the living space, and a caravan from Rilemfikod came to trade. Athson knew this was his chance to impress the King, and put a use to all of the trinkets that Led had made. He planned a fitting tribute for the King, an Obsidian shortsword and bolts made of bones, a mug from which to drink deeply, and jewelry made of stone. Anything else would be traded for the goods Kelrithol needed.
As it turned out, the caravan was well stocked with food, and only food. There was some cloth, which the dwarves bartered for anyways, knowing that they would eventually find a use for it. On the 13th of Sandstone, 1051, Mid-Autumn, the caravan left, and the dwarves knew that they were prepared for the coming winter. The had many plump helmets from their farming, and plenty of meat and fish from their bartering with the caravan. They still had a few seeds that could be planted and harvested before winter came.
Athson commissioned two statues to be made, one to emphasis the wealth of Kelrithol, the jewelry and various trinkets that bought them their food, and the other to emphasis the industry of Kelrithol, that created such masterful items and the furniture used by the dwarves. These statues were placed in the entryway, to remind all dwarves.
On the 23rd of Sandstone, migrants arrived in the swamp, seeking to find their future at Kelrithol.
There were three masons, a mechanic, a miner, a farmer, an unskilled lout by the name of Nil Sharetur, and a cow calf accompanying them.
How would the fortress fare, Athson wondered, with these new migrants?
A map of Kelrithol in late Sandstone, of the 1051st year
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Topic: Come hither, I have a tale to tell (Read 812 times)