dorf!Sus, you don't actually want to know what's in the "fortified brandy", but rest assured that it is in no way good for your general well-being or long-term life expectancy
Neither is anything else in this fortress
I tend to agree.
[OoC]
Corai and Aseaheru have been dorfed. Corai got one of the available male dorfs, apparently a craftsdorf of all trades. Aseaheru was dorfed as Not Speardwarf, unfortunately, as most of the skilled spear users are already claimed. However, he was recruited to The Gloved Pages, our go-to speardorf outfit, so he should pick up rather quickly.
(For whatever reason, the nicknames assigned via Therapist don't seem to "stick" in the game in some cases.
)
[/OoC]
7th Opal, 204Ah, been feelin' a lot better after I got some proper booze in me system. Also, things seem t' have quieted down for a bit again. The construction of th' archers' tower is coming along right nice, as is the spike trap corridor. Also, I finally found out the matter wit' the outdoors entrance to th' trap corridor: some smart lad had order'd the ramp in thar to be floored over. Now that the spikes are built almost ready an' nearly finished hookin' up to the lever, I've ordered the floor to be torn down. I'd say 'twas almost serene here right now, had I not been nearly ran over by one o' tha woodsdorfs - Lor I think 'is name was. He ran down the corridor shoutin' all about some "great idea" an' having
That Look in 'is eyes. He settled down in an empty carpenter's shop an' started dragging all kindsa stuff in there.
I also had a talk 'bout the strange "War Leader" Spawn wit' Splint and Mr Frog, who seem to know the most 'bout the accursed things around here. Splint figures the War Leader I saw must've been snatched by goblins as a child an' risen to power as it grew up, 'cause if there's something those things knows how to do, it's killin'. Sounds reasonable but fer one thing: what kind o' goblin would want to steal one of those ...
things..., even as a child? They must be even crazier than I've ever thought. As I told Mr Frog 'bout the Spawn seemin' to speak wit' the goblins, he went awful pale. I don' know what frightens me more, the fact that those beasts seem to be all intelligent an' having some kind of
plan to wipe out ev'ry last dorf in the world, or his react'n. I later caught a glimpse o' him poking that odd glowing rock o' his and mutterin' something about "Upmanage". Whatever that is, it doesn't sound good. One o' the less known Gods, maybe? If it is, I don' think it's a benevolent one...
Some time after th' incident wit' Lor, another throng o' migrants show'd up. They got quickly assigned to some new jobs. Whew, we're startin' to have quite a lot o' folk here already. Figure I need to be designatin' some new bedrooms. Also noticed our current bedrooms are startin' to get an awful lot o' clutter, so buildin' some coffers an' cabinets is in order.
The military is gettin' in some good training an' gear. Th' dog training program is also startin' to pay off, so I got some freshly train'd war dogs assigned. Otherwise, ther's still a lot to do on controllin' the animal populations... Even buildin' two more butcher's shops hasn't sped up the process much.
Did I say it was quiet in 'ere? Somebody must've heard, since down in the caverns, somethin' evil was once again afoot. This time, I hear, it's a huge man made o' flames.
A goblin thief also shows up, stabbin' a plant gatherer in the leg before running off. Urvi is added to th' list of missin' dorfs, only to be found moments later, dead from thirst. Yet 'nother testament to th' legendary "efficiency" of our health care...
Lor finish'd his "great idea". Turns out 'twas a feather wood splint.
Well, since I've been improvin' my own mood wit' generous amounts of brandy lately, I think it's time to share the fun! I'll be throwing a party at this here shale Table, if anyone's feelin' the need for a little pick-me-up! Might even perform me famous Mug Dance...
Whew, some party that was! How I got this *palm bucket* on me head an' all dressed up in nothin' but a +capybara leather thong+ an' («cave spider silk dress»), I may never know... As I was changin' into a bit more appropriate gear, a messenger came in sayin' the caravan was here, along wit' the liaison from tha Mountainhomes. Knowin' that the greenskins love ta pay their nasty visit at the same time as the caravan, I sent our militia squads to th' depot, just in case.
Sure enough, the goblins were up t' their usual tricks: a "trader" near th' border of our lands spotted a three-goblin ambush movin' towards the wagon train. I sent the militias after 'em, while they kept harassin' the poor merchant. At the same time, a pair o' kobold thieves thought they'd grab some easy loot durin' the commotion. Boy, were they mistaken; th' first one got in a bit of a ruff 'n' tumble with the militia an' dodged off the spiked walkway. It ended up several floors down on a stone floor wit' a satisfying
*crunch*. The second one was chopped to bits by Gemblade. The militia then set off to chase the greenskins.
'nother disturbing example o' the malicious wit of these things: as the militia was busy chasin' the first ambush, two more sprang out right on top o' the caravan, one of 'em with yet another Spawn soldier. This one seem'd to be just a grunt, though, not a leader. Fortunately, the caravan guards managed ta keep the ambush at bay long enough for our soldiers to come bail them out. One hapless plant gatherer wasn' quite so lucky an' got torn to pieces by the Spawn. After our boys joined the fray, the goblins' resolve broke right quick, an' the spawn was put outta commission. It did get a bite out of a caravan guard's lip before dyin'. I don' have the heart t' tell the poor soldier what's probably comin' to 'im... Even as the wagons were pullin' up to the depot, one final greenskin ambush an' a pair of baby snatchers did show up. They were no match for our season'd militia. I don' think a single one of 'em went back home.
Anyways, tradin' time. We dumped some magny ol' clothes, a couple o' shiny mugs an' some mechanisms on th' traders fer all the booze an' barrels they could muster. I think we got some spears an' pikes outta the trade as well. Th' traders made a comment or two about the Barbarian blood rain in these parts that had started once again. They also gave a dirty look to th' butcher's shoppes runnin' at full capacity right near the depot... Traded a bit more though, this time for a bunch o' Plump helmets an' a lot of cheese. Seems there was some kind o' confusion regard'n the position of Mayor yet again, so the Liaison just scoffed an' turned on his heels. Th' merchants left soon after him.
After the tradin' was done, somebody told me Strazxa had apparently starved to death. By the Gods, isn'
anybody feedin' the bloody patients 'round here?!
(Note t' self: must look into some kind o' "designated medic" system in th' near future.)
As I was surveyin' the fort, somethin' odd caught me eye in the caverns: an area of the undergroud was full o' smoke wit' the cave moss and fungi all smolderin'. Turns out that flame lad down there had been startin' fires everywhere 'e went.
So, tha's about it for Autumn. Now tha' the winter is comin' on, I have a daunting task ahead o' me: I'll need t' sit down wit' Splint an' look over our entire inventory. There's just too many bloody (xlarge troll fur sockx)s, (copper cap)s an' whatnot around here. What we can use we'll keep, but any tattered rags, large an' small clothes an' other worthless crap will be either dump'd in the magma or melted down fer metals. The great cullin' o' animals shall also continue wit' all haste. All in all, I'd say we're doin' pretty good. The second still is producin' impressive amounts o' booze, there's plenty o' food, the spike corridor is almost ready an' our military seems to kick some pretty serious arse.