Decided to make a story out of one of my games, so I started a new one, picked a spot, and started the tale. Little did I know, FUN awaited me...
Year 251 Spring. The Leader’s Journal of Amost “Furystone” Frillashed of Stonefountain
Blasted elves. Told us the way home was through the swamps, and now our cart is stuck in the mud and depths. Out cats are having a grand time, however, catching no less than 9 different fireflies and depositing them on the ground next to us.
Taking stock of our food and booze supplies, I realized we had enough to maybe last till the end of the season. Looks like we have no choice but to set up camp here in this blasted place, Who knows, maybe we will find something good beneath these hills.
I have planned out an area for our miners to start digging. Hopefully we will hit stone and be able to make some good crafts from it for the foolish elves and humans that are likely to come snooping.
Meanwhile, I have designated a large patch of trees to be cut down outside the carved entrance. With this wood we should be able to make some proper beds for ourselves, a necessity if we are to stay in this blasted swamp.
During the mining, the Mason, Chiselheart Bakkusttosid and his apprentice, our carpenter Treecarver Nishodkish, came to me with an idea. Why not build a wall outside the cave entrance for a first line of defense? I agreed, and the two of them started work on a walled zone around the entrance of the cave itself.
On our digging, we have not yet hit any water, nor heard its sounds. We are all worried that we will not be able to farm underground, and to quell that fear I have tasked our planter, Rootstone Anamtekkud, to gather the nearby plants in hopes of finding a few seeds for an aboveground farm.
Halfway through spring, Chiselheart came to me and told me that we were out of Jet for the walls. Blast. I told him to start using the next numerous material we had, Kaolinite. I suppose I will just have to live with the fact half of our wall will be black and the other half, red.
The meeting halls are complete, allowing our animals and ourselves to start moving into the fortress. The miners have done a good job, carving out the walls well. They have also carved out an area to begin construction on a carpenter’s workshop, which I shall begin immediately. There was also enough room for a Craftsdwarf’s Workshop, which I ordered construction as well. We cannot have our dwarven skills go rusty, can we?
I have also noticed that Chopper Sibrekonshen, our woodcutter, has finished the wood I ordered to be cut down at the beginning of spring, and immediately ordered him to start helping with the work on the walls. Lazy git was just hanging around the cart; I’m the only one allowed to do that!
Right before the change of seasons, Ironpick and Stonesmiter, our miners, told me they had finished the large area I had designated for the food storage. I immediately ordered all our food inside the fort; We didn’t want our supplies ruined by rain or the elements.
Year 251 Summer. The Leader’s Journal of Amost “Furystone” Frillashed of Stonefountain
The summer marked the beginning of the completion of the wall. I was enheartened; we would all be a little safer now. Not that any of us had seen any hostiles during this stay. Quite boring actually.
While walking around, I noticed a small ledge over the fortress’s underground entrance. Interested, I walked up a slope and soon found myself on an overhang. I soon realized this was a dangerous flaw in our defense, and could allow anyone to stand up there and fire down on the fortress. I remedied that by ordering construction of another wall to guard the ledge. Can’t be too careful.
Midsummer, some migrants arrive. I guess they have migrated here after hearing about how we have nearly no troubles? I do not know, but it is nice to see some new faces. By Armok, it is boring though. Several of them I start having gather plants and herbs from outside. Another, I start having carve some goblets of chalk, to trade with anyone who comes looking for such things. The last few I ordered to masonry and carpentry. Can never have too many working on improving the fortress!
With the new migrants, we now had enough people to start working on the great gates, on the outer walls. I ordered it built out of kaolinite; its ruby red tones will make it similar to the walls themselves.
Year 251 Autumn. The Leader’s Journal of Amost “Furystone” Frillashed of Stonefountain
The caravans should be here by the end of the season. Let’s hope they like chalk mugs.
I soon realized we were out of beer. Not good. Even my own flask was dry. Damn; looks like until the still is finished we are drinking water. Disgusting. On a side note, we are also running out of food. The plants that our gatherers are getting are not filling the food barrels fast enough. I order a new farm to be made outside; hopefully it will be done soon.
Blast it all! The Armok-damned fools will not finish the still! I keep showing the stones in the way, but they just blankly look at me and say, “Sir, they are blocking the site. We cannot build it.” When I tell them to move them, they look at me blankly. Armok damn it!
Well, it seems a few of them are smarter than I thought. One miner, Ironpick, decided to remove the stones and dump them in the refuse pile. Took longer than expected, but still he did it. With the still completed, I have told our brewer to begin work.
Then, I turn around, and lo and behold! More migrants! They seem to have come while I was worried about the still. Great; more mouths to feed. Ah well, we can find work for them, nonetheless. One of them is even a brewer. I set him up to relieve our current one from duty so he can get back to planting crops for food.
While walking through the fort today, I heard a pair of cries for help. Looking up, I saw Chiselheart and Treecarver stuck at the top of a cliff, where they had walled themselves in. Blasted fools. I ordered them to tear down a section of the wall and then replace it, which they hastily started. I could not believe their stupidity, by Armok, what sort of fools am I dealing with?
This is great. Just great. It seems Treecarver died of thirst while tearing down the wall. His death sent one of our Miners, Ironpick to be exact, into a fury. He went around, destroying the Craftsdwarf’s Workshop, and killing two of the migrants with a pick to the face. I have made sure to be quite far away while he is doing this…
I cannot believe it. 8 dwarves, dead to the hand of Ironpick. I have no choice, I have to flee this place. There is no hope for it now. As I speak, Ironpick has slain 2 more in his berserk fury. Bodies litter the halls and blood soaks the ground.
As I run, I hear a sickening crunch as another dwarf, a carpenter, is cut down, this time from the swing of a pick hard enough that it decapitated the poor fellow. Making it out to the gates, I then watched as the miner proceeded to slay all but 3 in the fortress.
Ironpick was finally cut down by our second miner, Stonesmiter. However, his arms where a bloody mess and his throat was torn; he died shortly after the battle.
The final dwarf looked at his fallen companions, and then keeled over and died for no apparent reason. Walking up to the corpse, I saw it withered. It seems the poor fool died of thirst; even though we had a small lake outside.
That is it, as the last remaining survivor of Stonefountain, I am gone. Even if I have to walk back to the Mountainhomes myself, I am not stopping until I get there.
>End of Journal<