I've reached early winter. I thought I would finally just burn through my turn, but I got such a sweet cliffhanger event that I decided that I wanted to post what I already have right away. 
The journal of Vodrilus IV Medtoblitast, Overseer
2nd Limestone
A baby has died of thirst. How unpleasant. The remains will be given to the deep sea of fire, as usual.
Another one is also near death. That formerly possessed dwarf. Poor Udib.
5th Limestone
The time has now come to write down the goal of the project, even if only in this little booklet. The goal is to destroy all the evil demons that howl beneath our fortress for vengeance. I can hear them even now, screaming from the deep. It is not such a long way, but the stone should be dense enough to mute their wailing. But it is not so. My dreams are haunted by the horrid noises that they make. It must stop. Even time seems to bend in their presence. They must be destroyed. Even the rats are corrupted by their influence.
The others have been working without knowledge as to the true nature of the project. They will not know before it is all done, for better or for worse. Here it is:
The linking is progressing very slowly, even though our best mechanic is on the job; he works like some frenzied daemon.
I wonder if many of the dwarves have guessed the scope of of the project, but that is now irrelevant, since they have made no action against it. Perhaps I am playing into their hands? I think not. The plan cannot but succeed.
10th Limestone
Olon the "z baby" is throwing a party. What on earth is a "z baby"? Must be a whim of one of the other Overseers.
20th Limestone
More pilgrims to Markedangels, the Shrine of the Catapult! I must rush to open the main gate!
We under the earth are 38. Let us see how many will come to swell our numbers.
21st Limestone
I have heard reports of at least five immigrants struggling to get to us. They seem to be scared of the monsters. Fortunately, the monsters are just as scared of them.
22nd Limestone
They are now making their way inside. There are six of them. Particularly noteworthy are Uvash the talented armorer and Nomal the great mason. Most of them also know how to fight. Handy. Overall, I am overjoyed with the increased workforce. We've been stretched to the limit, what with all that hassle after the troll attack.
23rd Limestone
One of the pilgrims was trying the old "went cleaning outside" -trick. Fortunately, he was stopped by the sight of one of those maimed monsters, and came running back home; "the frost drives the piglets back home".
25th Limestone
Another terrible monster has arrived!
We see that it can fly, so we'll just hope it won't get here before we've sealed the main cavern floor. (Which should have been done months ago. What happened?)
We also see that Nunore the flaming cavy is also waiting behind our walls, probably drawn to us by our delicious scent.
The new twisted monster is nowhere to be seen at the moment. No doubt it is contemplating its next move within its warped mind. Where did it go?
26th Limestone
A masterpiece by Uvash the Armorer! Apparently, he likes helms.
27th Limestone
I am jittery with excitement. The Perforator is operational, the test run done. The spikes are retracted for now.
Now the only thing to do is to mine out the last bit that connects the contraption to the Mines of the Damned. Of course, I must take care to send someone expendable. Perhaps one of the peasants... Ineth Anviltongs will do. Despite his great name, he has no useful skills.
28th Limestone
I have sent a small mining expedition down to the lower abandoned mines. Perhaps we may still find useful ores. Ineth has been sent to survey the area.
2nd Sandstone
Oh no! Ineth stumbled upon the old tunnels, but ran back, raving and babbling about evil beings. Fortunately, we have installed a hatch as a safety measure, along with a cave-in plug. We will just have to wait and see...
4th Sandstone
The first hatch has been breached. Everything is going according to plan. Now all those evil creatures must do is to seek the second hatch and be shredded by the copper spikes. But somehow they seem to sense the trap. Why won't they come? Perhaps they need land access, even though they fly... I'll send Urdim the peasant to provide for that...
8th Sandstone
As I suspected, allowing a walkable path for them did the trick. Fortunately, I also ordered Urdim to take a hatch with him for quick installation... let's see how he fares.
First blood!
Or should I say...
'first ash'?
8th Sandstone
Amongst all the anxiety and horror, the death of Udib the Melancholy Peasant has not gone unnoticed. Perhaps this is an omen: Our depressing past is now gone, and a happier future lies ahead.
9th Sandstone
Oh no! Urdim has left the second hatch open, allowing the entrance of one demon! (I should have guessed that fools nature by his name.) We must try to survive! I am sending all able-bodied fighters down to save the hatch. The hatch is key!
Kiltin the Mayor is the first to reach the demon.
An epic battle ensued, but as Kiltin was not only unarmored, but also unarmed, he had no real chance.
Thus he is also the first to be struck down. Somehow, the hatch won't stay closed!! And now the lever-pulling has stopped! What is going on? Who is sabotaging us??
10th Sandstone
I have ordered a miner to pull the lever, with satisfying results. I hope we can destroy the remaining demons with pure physical force.
At least dwarves 12 dead now. Now 14. 15. 16.
The fort is safe for now, but the cost is high. 17 dead. We will need slabs.
17th Sandstone
A week has passed since revealing the Perforator project. The populace is surprisingly content -- not a single tantrum yet. Also, after a brief look at the reports, we see that the Perforator performed well; it destroyed over 20 demons. The project was a great success.
One issue with the Perforator was the need of constant lever-pulling. I may devise some kind of an automatic repeater, but I am not certain how that should work.
On a different note, the water in the caverns seems to have gone mad. It has stopped moving. Perhaps this has something to do with the unnatural essence of the demons? Or is there something even more sinister at hand?
A musical interlude
The material of the demons helped a lot; most of them were made of salt and ashes. Would have been a bit harder with steel demons. Still, the fps has only improved from 4 to 5. Dang. I may need to destroy all the denizens of the Underworld to succeed in raising the fps to an acceptable level...
19th Sandstone
A monster with quite a name.
24th Sandstone
Our new mayor, Nil Rithmebzuth, has issued his first mandate.
I see that he wants chains. That Nil...
After a moment of thought I find this rather fortunate since Datan, our new captain, has been worried about our lack of prison cells. Therefore it might be wise to obey the mandate (this time, at least). I have sent Datan himself to forge those chains, since we have no skilled metalcrafters. He was happy to oblige.
24th Sandstone
This chance couldn't have come at a better time. My time as Overseer is nearing its end, and I must hurry to unravel this conspiracy while I have any power left. At least the prisons will be ready soon.
7th Timber
A possessed child (the legendary crutchwalker with no legs) has begun a mysterious construction... "Ittasoddom", he mumbles.
10th Timber
I found another piece in this infernal puzzle: I see that there are no original settlers left; the oldest resident is actually a child... this possessed one.
Is the conspiracy related to this? Is it aimed at destroying the old residents? Did they know something?
Or is the conspiracy centered arounf this child? Is he the one pulling the strings?
13th Timber
This week has been rather uneventful, so far. We've all been hard at work, now that our useful workforce is halved.
We need more pilgrims. Perhaps we should (scratched out) Yes, we will find more sacred adamantine in the tunnels. Selling it may not be the best use for it, but in this situation we probably need all the fame we can possibly garner.
14th Timber
We hear that a caravan has arrived, topside. Perhaps we should open the gate and allow them in.
17th Timber
Ittasoddom.
'Tis a trumpet.
17th Timber
The trumpet! I hear it in my dreams. It booms like cave-in and screams like melting dwarves! It sounds the fall of Markedangels.
I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. I must calm myself. (The script deteriorates beyond the border of legibility.)
18th Timber
A ghost has risen.
Seems to be some Dodok the Engraver. No-one I knew. It would be nice to see him engrave his own slab, but I guess we'll have to do it for him.
21st Timber
Another ghost. Some farmer. Slab.
23rd Timber
A surprise.
A kobold tried to infiltrate our fortress, but was quickly discovered. I arranged a little betting on his chances against the zombienihilator stopper. Unfortunately it got away, and I lost a really nice sock.
5th Moonstone
The mines are now clear of all demons. Good old trusty copper.
9th Moonstone
I have sent Ineth the Peasant down to carve a stairway through the adamantine vein so that we may get a good glimpse at the point of origin of these demonic creatures. He's getting pretty good at digging.
11th Moonstone
A twisted, flying beast has taken us by surprise! It's that horrid duck again! To arms!
This may be the last stand of Lisedsedil Arel Thunen. Whoever finds this journal, cherish it well, since it tells the legend of Markedangels the Waters of Living.
In the name of the Catapult!
EDIT: Damn typos.
Author
Topic: [Succession Game] Markedangels The Water Of Living (Read 136454 times)