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[DKGafgar]

Yo. I was pointed towards Dwarf Fortress only a few weeks ago by some corpmates in EVE Online, and I got hooked instantly. This will be my first community fortress, and indeed my first fortress that isn't a test run fit to be abandoned within a year. I'm still working out all the kinks in my design strategies, but I have a feeling this run might actually live a while.

I must admit though that I'm having some computer troubles of late. After finding and dealing with a large number of viruses infecting my hard drive, my computer's performance has dropped significantly, and has become prone to freezing up. My first attempt at getting Umomiton Nist started fell victim to just that, with a BSOD popping up before I could save the game - fortunately my Init file had just the cure for my second attempt!

Take note that Umomiton Nist is running with my in-development Dark mod installed, which adds Dark Dwarves and a number of other goodies to the game. We'll see how the mod works out.

Well then, let's see how this goes, eh? We'll start with some general background info.

-----

Sil Lathon, "The Plane of Myth"

The world of Sil Lathon, which is dwarven for the Plane of Myth, is a world once again on the brink of endless war. An apocalyptic conflict only centuries hence has left the ancient empires destroyed, and many demons from the Time Before Time set loose from their prisons deep beneath the earth. Humans, Elves, and Dwarves, the civilized peoples of Sil Lathon, hurry to rebuild while fending off the assaults of the savage Goblin hordes and their demonic masters. However, while the Three Good Races work to rebuild, they remain ignorant of a darkness spreading in the lands outside of their dominion - the rise of the Dark Dwarves, exiles and renegades from the other mountainhomes who have now settled in the desolate, haunted lands of the west and the south - a land dominated by the mountain range known only as the Finger of Ruin. Having been taken into the service of mighty demon lords, the Dark Dwarves now work furiously to find and free the remaining demon hosts from their prisons of Adamantite. Though some often mistake these servants of evil for their former brethren, one does not often do so twice...

-----

Umomtarmid Nist, "The Dark Blades of Fear"

The Dark Blades of Fear are but one sect of the Dark Blades, the main military force of the dark dwarven Kingdom of The Lash of Meteors. Loyal servants and devout worshippers of Vucar the Profane Ash of Ghouls, revered by her Dwarven servants as the 'Ancient One' who had saved their people from lingering death in exile. For two hundred years now Lady Vucar had led The Lash of Meteors, turning aside their enemies and forming the great citadel of Likotor, or "Inkedlarge", digging deep into the earth in search of more Ancient Ones in their cursed Adamantite prisons. The Dark Blades are her most trusted servants, now led by Sibrek Dastotdesor Medtobpthsal Okab, the warrior who slew the skeletal dragon Ral Parchedjewels at Mistdark and terrorized the human lands of the north. While the majority of it's forces remain at Inkedlarge, the Dark Blades of Fear, led by Kagranar Reggigin, have been sent south to the volcano known only as "The Disemboweled Flames" in the Cruel Spike mountains to establish an outpost to find, guard, and eventually excavate a rumored Adamant deposit and free the 'Ancient Ones' imprisoned within.

[DKGafgar]

1st Granite 201

Kagranar Reggigin wordlessly raised a hand, ordering the tiny caravan to a halt on a hill south of the volcano's summit, overlooking the woodland valley below. The Muskox groaned in delight as the wagon was unhitched from them, the dogs and cats wandering about stretching, and the six Dark Blades under Kagranar's command gathered about in a loose semicircle behind him, taking in the land around them.

They had placed their wagon on a plateau overlooking the Disemboweled Flames' caldera in the northeast and the jungle valley below, through which cut the Spurthates, which would join with the Villagefolded further north, and the Tainted Magicians even further on, before running east all the way to the sea. A small rocky outcrop just west of their wagon would make an excellent entrance for their initial settlement, though the lack of nearby obsidian or ebony would eventually require them to relocate to more suitable grounds. Further, there was the matter of searching for the adamant rumored to lay nearby.

There was much work to be done, and little time to waste. The Dark Halls of Fear had to be prepared as quickly as possible.

Kagranar turned to regard his subordinates, who would be his only comrades present until the settlement's viability had been determined, and such decisions were still a year away. Bomrek, the huntress, stood proudly with her hunting dogs clustered around her, Mira the cook sheltering within her shadow. The miner Ark Darkhelm, also an accomplished swordsman, stood with his fellow miners Franclorn and Modgud. Finally the curiously-named Hank - he insisted he'd taken the name from a human in the north, along with said human's life and flesh - could be found loafing about with the war dogs, the expedition's sole battle axe hefted over his shoulder. Appropriate, as 'Hank' was their woodcutter.

"Alrighty Dark Blades, listen up. There's digging to be done, and we should get that out o' the way quick as possible. Hank, go scout 'round the brook and see what we've got to worry 'bout."

"Right away boss.", Hank replied, turning and jogging down the hill toward the valley below, one of the war dogs trailing behind him.

"Good. The rest of you, to your picks. I want shelter and stockpiles set up by the end of the month. Get to it!"

"You got it, boss!" the Dark Blades chorused.

Smiling grimly, Kagranar hefted a pick, turning to regard the rocky outcrop behind them. With a few quick hand gestures and terse grunts, he signalled to his fellow miners where to dig, then raised his pick and charged the rock like it were a mortal enemy, roaring out a battlecry:

"STRIKE THE EARTH!"

[eerr]

usually people get some say in the location...(though i'm personally be too busy to play)

[DKGafgar]

Unfortunately I'd already started playing when the call came on IRC to make it a community fort. Suffice to say, though, that Umomiton Nist is located on a haunted volcano with a huge, gaping chasm nearby.

[Haven]

Hmm... I think getting say in location is more for succession forts. Community forts don't tend to have a lot of interaction... Not that changing that would be bad.

[DKGafgar]

/shrug

I might start a new fortress later on and let people decide where to put it, but for now let's see how far this one can go.

The following is, unfortunately, the second of two posts I'd written for the events of the rest of Umomiton Nist's first spring. As my first attempt at playing the fort fell apart due to a Windows crash as I mentioned in the first post, a far more interesting story involving cowardly zombies and a giant eagle flying around in the food stockpile has unfortunately been thrown out. Apologies.

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Early Granite 201

Kagranar swore under his breath as the Dark Blades began to dig into the surface of the plateau, having cleared away the excess rock from their outcrop above.

They'd struck microcline.

Not a good sign.

Microcline, a light blue stone of dubious value, was not only hard on a dwarf's eyes - it shared some visual similarities with adamant. The rumors had placed an adamant deposit somewhere in this region, but if someone had mistaken a microcline cluster for adamant...

Then this whole expedition could be a gigantic waste of time.

They'd also suffered no less than two cave-ins, and felt the effects of a third deep underground. He had no idea what was causing them, but he'd already been caught up in one, and Modgud in another - thank Vucar they hadn't suffered more than a few minor scrapes and bruises... but they might not be so lucky next time.

Not a good sign.

"Boss!" came Hank's voice, the dwarf himself arriving shortly later. "You might want to take a look at this."

-----

A chasm. A chasm filled to the brim with the undead! It was a nightmare. Thank Vucar they'd spotted the rotters before they'd actually shown up.

Kagranar had already posted Bomrek and several of the dogs to a hill overlooking the chasm - as well as the woodland nearby - to deal with the worst of the beasts. Already a small mound of bones and rotting flesh had begun piling up just a short jog south of their little outcrop. The stench was such that even the indefatigable Bomrek had vomited, and the dogs spent more time pawing their noses than being on guard. Fortunately their only attackers so far had been undead antmen and mole dogs, but they'd spotted trolls and other such horrors deeper within.

They'd have to deal with that chasm, and soon.

Not a good sign.

[DKGafgar]

1st Hematite 201

Summer had arrived after three months of hard work and tragedy.

Hank, the woodcutter, had been crushed to death in yet another of the sudden and unexpected cave-ins. The collapse had occurred while excavating an area close to the volcano's caldera, where they had decided to move to more permanent lodgings close to the magma pipe - and further away from the undead-infested chasm. Hank, unfortunately, had been clearing away the unneeded rock outside when a small section of unsupported andesite had fallen directly on top of him. He would be sorely missed, if only because they now had no professional carpenter on hand.

In the meantime, work would continue. A magma smelter and forge had been placed along the caldera's rim, and with the iron they'd brought along from Inkedlarge and a little of the nearby obsidian, soon they would be able to smelt the Dark Iron they'd need for the next stage of their plan...

[Kinneus]

I can't wait to see how they deal with a chasm full of undead. Personally, I'm hoping for some kind of dwarven version of 28 Days Later.

[DKGafgar]

1st Limestone 201

Autumn was heralded by yet another death.

Ark Darkhelm, the chief miner, had been ambushed by yet another of the undead, a skeletal fire imp. Though he'd fought bravely, the creature's fiery breath had caught him alight and sent him running, screaming and aflame, down the hill toward the river far below - and unfortunately away from Bomrek, who'd gone running with her weapons and war dogs to aid him. Ark had died somewhere in the jungle, and it was unlikely that they would have time to recover the corpse.

Meanwhile, the plan to flood the lower chasm and valley below with magma from the volcano was going smoothly. Channels had already been dug, and all that needed to be done was to put the floodgates in place and let the magma flow. They'd already begun tentative mining of the small obsidian deposit surrounding the caldera, which had allowed them to finally begin production of the holy ore of the Ancient Ones - Dark Iron. Soon the floodgates would be in place, and they could unleash the fiery blood of the Deep upon their enemies. The chasm could not, of course, be entirely cleared of the undead in this manner, but at least it would prevent any new enemies from crawling up from the depths.

The construction of the new lodgings was also well under way. The entrance hall was almost complete, and a room that would eventually serve as a forward barracks was being dug even now - and further, they'd found a generous deposit of hematite during their digging, which would assist with their Dark Iron production. And the caravan from Inkedlarge should arrive next season, hopefully with orders to continue the the settlement and fresh workers.

Ark's death was unfortunate. But everything was still going according to plan.

[DKGafgar]

Ohshi-

I was playing into the winter, when suddenly a Zombie Giant Eagle showed up. Thanks to some dolt (*eyes Bomrek, the only Marksdwarf*) leaving a bunch of bolts in the doorway, it managed to fly into the fortress and proceeded to kill everyone in their sleep before the dogs finally took it down. I'm now down to just Mira and Franclorn, who are both heavily injured and sure to expire soon unless they can somehow survive being bedridden without someone to feed or water them.

So then: savescum, or Reclaim? If the latter there'll be plenty of military dwarves to be named and assigned skills. Or I can rewind to the beginning of winter and try to keep the eagle away. Thoughts?

Edit: Unholy carp! I backed up my save just in case and abandoned so I could see how a Reclaim attempt would go - and they gave me seventy dwarves to work with!

I think I'm going to go with Reclaim. Give me names, people.

[Glacies]

Glacies, a giant eagle hunter.