Autumn 252
Well, Lakehome has finally seen some action.
A named beast appeared on the map (mere tiles from an unlucky dwarf).
The Weremonitor Child, Cadi Atthemscola. It is a large monitor twisted into humanoid form. It is crazed for blood and flesh. Its eyes glow lime. Its raw umber scales are large and set far apart.
It succeeded at biting Kib Mesirkosoth twice before it reverted into human form and fled the map.
Kib has been promptly diagnosed, and requires cleaning, dressing, and is suffering from mild blood loss. His grasp is impaired, and there is some damage to his motor nerves. He should make it, but is going to be kept in isolation when the next full moon approaches.
Additionally, just after the Attack of the Terrible Weremonitor Child, my first goblins showed up. Or snuck up. A band of 5 goblin thieves tried to get into the fortress and make off with the young. A pair of cage traps deterred two, and Atir Belalerith (the stonecrafter) bumped into another two. The fifth one was running late, and managed to catch a quickly refilled cage trap, leaving me with 3 caged goblins and a wounded stonecrafter.
He requires cleaning, dressing, and crutches. He currently is unable to stand, has partial broken tissue, and an infection (goblins need to clean their weapons better). I HAVE NO SOAP.
Now begins a race to see if I can finish the soap assembly in time to prevent further damage. Two of the needed workshops are already in place, and an Ashery has been queued for construction. Mebzuth Ezumzaneg has been tasked in charge of Soap and Lye production and nothing else. She came in with the Spring wave of migrants, and has novice training in lye production already.
More bad news - there was still no human caravan, but that just means I will have more goods available for the dwarves from The Mines of Attacking later this season.
The good news was another healthy wave of migrants. 16 new dwarves arrived, with 3 of particular skill.
Erith Likotabsam is a Great Weaponsmith (but will be relegated to other duties as long as Moldath is doing well).
Her husband, Udib Thakzaneg is a Great Wood Burner (woo?) and novice Fisherdwarf. Likewise, his strengths will not be put to effective use for now (although once the current emergency is over, he will be in charge of the wood furnace).
Finally, Likot Eriblolok is a Great Animal Dissector.
I'm pretty sure why the Mountainhome sent these 3 to me. They weren't helping out much back there! Nevertheless, they are all socially skilled, and are at least more help than harm out here on the frontier.
In other good news though, my mining expedition managed to find some copper amongst the obsidian (AFTER digging all the way to the South and finding only Slate). 25 units of copper ore are resting safely in the storerooms, where Moldath is fashioning some swords for my military (who have already gone through Dodging, Combat, and Striking demonstrations. Sadly, my captive goblins are only clad in leather, but have an iron, copper, and silver dagger between the 3 of them.
I also found the goods dropped by the last dwarven caravan (concealed cleverly beneath an Alunite Block). The recovered goods include a steel shield, bismuth bronze pick, 6 bins of cloth, a steel mace, and iron helm.
As far as the fortress itself goes, not much progress has been made in digging, with the miners spending half their time looking for copper. Rooms have been dug for the military, as well as a dedicated section for stone crafting (in order to simplify the trading).
61 dwarves currently reside in Lakehome, with an army of 10 training swordsdwarves. I look forward to the Dwarven Caravan this year, as it should have many of the goods I requested (including the Gypsum that I desperately need).