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[GreatWyrmGold]

From the journal of GreatWyrmBrass Assaultroom, Expedition Leader and Scribe of Zonnish Kukon, vol. I

Well, we're here. We were told to go somewhere around here and stop on the first of Granite, so here we are. It's mostly flat, but there's some slopes up towards the north. Plenty of trees, too. In the river, there's a herd of hippos, two spongey-manney creatures, and two bands of otterfolk totalling about 15. I tell Broken to start cutting some nearby trees and have the mute one help BerzerkNINJA mine.
It just occurred to me that NINJA's a miner AND a militia person. That will end...interestingly.
By the second of Granite, the miners strike the aquifer level.
Around that time, I see a big, red bug. It looks like a tick. That's not important, though. What is important is that I'm working on piercing the aquifer. Well, I'm directing the efforts of the miners to work on it, and shooing out a curious cat.
On the fifth, Splint reported a lack of fish.
BerzerkNINJA showed a remarkable level of stupidity on the 13th. Well, it was a Friday, but still. He channeled the aquifer out from beneath his feet!
On the 17th, while claring off the cave-in plug, Splint reported getting some whip vines! Excellent! I'll have some whip wine brewed ASAP!
Around the 20th, Splint caught some mussels. Excellent, I'll have them cleaned.
Finally, on Granite 25, 127, the plug was ready. We were still waiting for Dagger to finish cleaning the fish and stuff. I came up with a creatuve solution. Eventually, on the second day of Slate, we were ready. It worked perfectly, except for the part where the room was too flooded to safely go down there. I cleverly designed a tunnel to drain all of the water down into the aquifer.
Then I discovered that the lower part of the plug had gotten aquiferey. Great, just great. Well, we're going to be here for a while, we might as well get comfy.
At some point, the river critters left except for a sponge man; so did the giant tick. Taking their place was a big, amazingly fat, hamsterlike creature. He's a curious monster.
Towards mid-Slate, I decided we should dig out some farms. The first was dug out by the 20th and plowed the next day; the second dug on the 21st, plowed around the end of spring, after some seeds were planted already in ither plots; the last was dug early on the 22nd and plowed on the 23rd. The first and largest will only grow plump helmets; the second will alternate between plump helmets and pig tails; the last and smallest will switch from quarry bushes to plump helmets.
I quickly discovered something--well, two somethings--as I had the miners dig about. First off, the plug didn't go aquiferey--it was just a bunch of water flowing down the stairs. Second off, the level below that WAS an aquifer. What did I do? What any good dwarf would: I prepared an overly-elaborate device to empty the aquifer below long enough for me to put up some walls!
Overly-elaborate might be a bit...gratituous on my part, though. It was just four pumps and a few walls and channels to deal with the overflow.
At some point, the hamster-monster was replaced with a louse-monster.
Summer came. We're almost through...Why is there a flying lungfish?
[Flying Lungfish]
A massive mosquitolike creature came. It was black, but at least it didn't swarm in the hundreds like the mosquitos of legend did.

On the tenth of Hematite, 127, we finished breaching the aquifer! More or less. We still had a little water in the staircase, and had to deconstruct our big machine thingy, but overall, we were done.

[Broken]

More updates please! And some screenshots. We need to see where we live, after all.

Any ideas about how to organice the prison? i sugest 4 persons cell, wwith and entrance trough a roof made of floor grates. And each
cell with a well and quantum stockpile.

And more important, how much labor will the prisioners do?

[GreatWyrmGold]

Well, I still haven't found an image hosting site without some kind of problem. To make up for it, I'm finally updating the OP!

-----

Ah, yes, glorious stone! I can smell the fair scent of microcline, feel the glorious gleam of gems! Bloodstone, I believe.
The miners dug a narrow staircase down several levels, so as to make sure we avoided the aquifer completely.
I ordered a depot to be built out of some of the blocks used to make the pumps. We've still got one, in case we want to build something we need a block for.
We're starting work on a level with some future bedrooms and stuff. Also a meeting hall.

On the 22nd of Hematite, Sappho reported a group of migrants on the horizon.
First came a Mr. Tradeplans. He's got a long mustache and a longer ponytail, but only a moderate amount of beard or sideburn. He doesn't like helping others, but is willing to do anything to gain favor. He claims to have self-discipline, but others report him as being impulsive. He is married and comes from a big family (he has seven aunts, as many uncles, and 29 cousins), but has no children. He's also an atheist, and a fishery worker. He's a prisoner of some kind, probably of the political variety like Dagger, but he won't tell. He likes brimstone, though, that's ominous.
Tradeplans was followed by his wife, a Mrs. Manorgloves. She's the eldest of six children, mostly girls. Manorgloves comes from an even larger family than her husband. Much like her husband, she doesn't like helping people; maybe it's best that they haven't had kids. She's generally antisocial, and likes the fictional stone slade. Manorgloves is a siege operator, which for now means “hauler.”
We've got another fishery worker, this one a kinda lazy and relaxed Mrs. Sprychamber. She's married, again with a large family, and has one son. The son is not here.
We also get her husband, a decent mason and tracker, as well as having some military skills. He's skinny, flimsy, and forgetful, but healthy and fast-healing. Mr. Ringedshaft likes fresh experiences, but is entirey averse to risk and excitement. I suppose he likes making new types of statues.
A skinny medic/bone carver, Mrs. Townbud is a prisoner, here for mixing those trades. She's not one for rules, but does like thrills and she's always happy, never angry, as well as striving for excellence. She is married and is from a small family. I've only glanced at names, but I think a lot of these people might share cousins, despite never being each others' cousins. My eyes must be playing tricks on me.
The...sixth migrant? is Townbud's optimistic husband, an animal caretaker named Strengthletter, a massive dwarf, almost as tall as a human and as muscular as an ogre. He knows himself well but doesn't like dealing with others, nor is he good at it. Due to his sense of duty and his muscles, I'm assigning him to BerserkNINJA's squad.
We've got another freaking fishery worker, Mr. Glovedtrumpet (a distant cousin of Splint's). He likes ammunition off all types, is completely unaffected by others' suffering, keeps his focus no matter what, and doesn't care about laws. As you can tell, he's a prisoner. His crime? Iritating one of the king's advisors with a dull, pointless story. He has two children.
Glovedtrumpet's wife, a self-conscious, adventurous, altruistic architect and hammerdwarf, also came. Her surname is Rampartpaddle.
The elder child of Glovedtrumpet and Rampartpaddle is nine-year-old Galleyinch. His eight-year-old sister is Blockadeswords. The former is indefatigueable; the latter tires quickly, but is strong and tough, as well as assertive and boastful. Despite being small for her age, Blockadeswords beats up her older brother most of the time they fight.
We also got some livestock: A horse foal (filly? Those are young mares, right?), a bunny; and a big, fat donkey foal.
We have a dwarven population of 17, including two children, as well as an animal population of 15. We've struck limonite, hematite, cassiterite, and galena, so we should have plenty of iron, tin, lead, and silver. I'm also starting a marksdwarf squad of former fishery workers, with Splint staying in his old squad.
Thank Doren that's over.
[Doren Coalearths is one of the deities that GreatWyrmBrass worships, associated with metals. The other is Istbar Spryfancies, a male deity associated with pregnancy...Oh, and he's worshipped by a bunch of elves and minotauroses.]

[Splint]

That's.... Strange for a fertility diety.....

[GreatWyrmGold]

Indeed. I imagine him as being kinda like Zeus or somesuch, as far as love life goes. You know, cheating on the goddess of marriage, bearing demigods, etc. Maybe that's why non-dwarves worship him.

I'll probably have an update once my computer's internet is working.

[Splint]

Sounds reasonable. Things seemed to be going well, so let's see it continue!

[GreatWyrmGold]

A minute and a half after my post, a reply...creepy. How long were you waiting at your computer waiting for an update? Or was it just luck?

[Splint]

I've got nothing to do at nigth so I just listen to music, play a game (when I respond this quick it's DF) and monitor community games I have a hand in.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Ah. I see. I was just surprised. In case I hadn't made that painfully obvious yet.

Oh, and sorry to make my previous statement a lie. I'm uploading some screenshots, now that I got Photobucket working. Yay!

[GreatWyrmGold]

I'll add the rest of the old-update pictures tomorrow or so.
This update ends at the point where I am now. It's a good-sized update, but with no good stopping point.

-----

Spoiler: Pics (click to show/hide)

I'll start this entry with a few sketches of our fine fortress.

Here's the surface. You can see the trade depot, food stockpile, pastures, a couple workshops, and the temporary meeting area, complete with some migrants.

Here's the level where we went through the aquifer. You can see the remnants of the pumps, two dead lungfish, and a dead hamster.

And here is the new living level. A few bedrooms for the Starting Seven and some more for the new migrants are visible. So is a new meeting area and a future dining hall.

And now to continue writing events that occur.

On the 25th of Hematite, I noticed a massive beast, like a hedgehog but a bit bigger than a llama. I mentioned that it would be nice if we could catch it. The mute one spoke up.
“I know how to capture them.”
Everyone else from the starting seven stared at her for a moment. Several of the migrants asked what everyone was amazed at, and Sappho explained about why we called her The Mute One. I suggested to her that she get to work; she shrugged and nodded before disappearing into the mines. It took a moment before she came up, looking a bit embarassed and tossing her pick on the ground. I have Townbud the bone carver.
At the end of the month, I decided that enough of the new meeting area was dug out to permit us to move to it. Much to my surprise, I saw that the mute one had set up shop in the area. When I asked her why she set up her shop here, she looked at me oddly and gestured around. I guess that this is the ony non-aboveground area big enough to set up a workshop (except for Sappho's bedroom-to-be).
I told Glovedtrumpet to stop fishing stuff and work on the learning bowyery. We're working on some bolts, but have no crossbows to fire them with. On the eighth of Malachite, Glovedtrumpet finished.
A few days later, the mute one set up a trap. She loaded it with a maple cage and smiled. I wondered aloud how to get anything to wander into it; she looked to be deep in thought, then sketched up some plans. Good--there's another giant hedgehog wandering around.
At some point, I decide we need some good masonry. I decide to build it in my future office.
[Mason's Workshop]
I decided I could use a nap. Before I go to sleep, I get a couple of random ideas about workshops, for instance dumping wood into a chamber near the carpenter's workshop.
I noticed a huge beast slithering along, like a slug, about the same size as the hedgehog thing. Well, if it slithers into the cage trap, I'll be happy to have something.
I hear that there are plans to make some shell armor. Good idea, I say.
On the 27th, something interesting happened. BerserkNINJA took me from my workshop to show me a grand bed--masterful, you might say. I ask for it in my room, and let NINJA have my old one.
I decide to fiddle with crafting methods, to arm our soldiers. [Read: I modded the save game's raws to create stone hammers and stone maces.]
About a week into Galena, there was enough space in the workshop area for me to relocate my mason's workshop. A couple days later, it came to my attention that we are basically out of alcohol.

It comes to my attention that my plan to dig a chute through the ground from aboveground was stupid, as I did not account for the aquife--

SAVESCUM, SORRY
I really don't like killing dwarves (and losing picks) to my own stupidity. I prefer when it happens due to dwarven stupidity. (Alhough Mrs. Townbud's decision to take a nap in the aquifer was rather stupid.)

Anyways...

It's the 6th of Galena. Sappho's getting an office as soon as someone hauls the table I just made to her office area. She immediately begins updating stockpile records.

In other news, the cage trap that the mute one set up caught a giant, sluglike beast. I haven't ever tamed any captured creatures before, so this should be interesting...Splint's on the job!

A kiln is being built. I also decide that a dormitory would probably be a good idea. As well as a militia commander who totes around his gear and not a pick. I suppose the mute one will be able to return to mining once she gets off her break.
Oh, and we're out of booze.
A bunch of wren people showed up. Sadly, diplomacy has not advanced to the point where we can ally them.
Blockadeswords was    playing in the mute one's workshop. She pretended to be making mechanisms, and I could tell that she was trying to pretend to be the mute one because she was saying so. When her brother pointed out that the mute one was, you know, not a big talker, she punched him. The whole scene amused the mute one.
[Alright, most of that was made up, but Blockadeswords was in the mechanic's workshop, where one would work, for a while.]
Dagger's been brewing. Lots of wine, some river spirits and sewer brew. She said she was interested in trying some new recipies and tastes. Whatever, we've got at least a month of alcohol.
On the 16th, the wren men scared an herbalist bringing a barrel of plants, mainly plump helmets but also including some quarry bushes, whilst gathering berries. Unluckily for them, that herbalist was Splint, who had a hammer for some reason. Right after this battle, I'll try to fix it. Well, it's not really a battle, per se--we just put the fear of the gods into them.
I decide to put the sorta-wild slug into the area just above the aquifer, which is also being designated as a training zone. Galleyinch is now playing mechanic. Towards the end of summer, I decide to put a new microcline throne in my office. Around the same time, the mute one starts making some shell crafts. I guess she can make shell stuff. I advise her to work on armor soon; she rolls her eyes at me.

[Splint]

Did I kill anything?

[GreatWyrmGold]

Sadly, no. Wren men seem to have wings, and despite Splint's valiant attempts, dwarves can't fly.

[Splint]

Damn I was hoping one would've slipped up and gotten its face smashed.

And the hammer was probably an equippment slip up left on "Individual's choice/melee"

[GreatWyrmGold]

New Update!
Preview: Slugmen, Giant Slug Attack, Minecarts, Migrants, Mood.

-----

Another giant slug showed up. The mute one has expanded the cage traps--we have five now, located next to a couple of trees to slightly increase the chances of catching something. We intend to add walls soon. Sad that these things don't seem to be able to breed. Bigger shame that no one's tried to tame it past semi-wild.
At the start of Limestone, a cat gives birth. Gave. Whatever. Also, we started putting furniture in the dining room. Two tables, three chairs, more to be added. A dormitory has also been dug and is having some beds added. Blockadeswords is playing mechanic again-she really seems to look up to the mute one, except for the whole “chatty” thing.
A dog gave birth. Gives. Whatever. I then space out for a few weeks.
[I failed to note that the game was unpaused.]
A group of slug men showed up. A cat started playing with them.
The system I designed to drop wood down from the surface has been tested. The minecart has been whizzing over the little hole in the ground. To solve this, I am having the last track before the hole removed. Unfortunately, the memo was not received by everyone, and Splint was removing the track from on the track...
Thankfully, Splint was only bruised, and grabbed the edge of the big (failed) aquifer-piercing pit just in time to avoid splatting 20 feet below. As recompensation for this accident, I finally appointed her sheriff. She also requests a statue of herself to be erected in the dining hall; I agree to do so once the dining hall is more than four tables with four chairs around them in a big, empty, rough-hewn room. She agrees, and Shem makes the statue. It depicts her admiring a pack of giant hyenas.
Early in Sandstone, we strike native gold. All of this ore will make us rich if we can just find magma or something. A skilled metalcrafter would be nice, too.
On the ninth, the giant slug reverted to its wild state because no one decided that maybe they should work of taming it more. It made a brilliant choice to attack BerserkNINJA while he was working on making a cabinet. While this was going on, Shem worked on a minecart track, oblivious or uncaring to the massive beast trying to crush our militia. The slug received massive injuries, such as breaking and tearing its eyestalks and guts, and the rest of it, too, actually. BerserkNINJA actually killed the beast, with a strike to the head with his microcline mace. I sigh at the lost training opportunity and tell my fellow dwarves to butcher the beast. I also set up a temporary kitchen, just outside the new main food stockpile.
Right in the middle of autumn, we build a little bridge across the river. This gives us access to around one-quarter of the land allotted to us, but previously unreachable due to the lack of a ford around here.
Towards the end of Sandstone, migrants arrived.
The first was a skinny beekeeper, surnamed Ransackedsack, with a large family, including four children. She likes microcline, so she'll fit right in around here. She is calmly confident.
Her husband, a swordsdwarf/jewler/fishery worker (surname Plaitmansions), followed. He is like her wife: Skinny, calm, and confident under pressure, but he's a lot more active in finding pressure. I guess that adventurousness is why he became a swordsdwarf.
Next is Quilltorch, a fat, broad-nosed bone carver who happens to be Glovedtrumpet's younger brother (only 16, compared to Glovedtrumpet's 22).
Quilltorch's lovely young bride (19 years old! My, what things are coming to these days), a metalcrafter named Creedbell, is an ardent worshipper of Risen the Southern Luxuries, the god of wealth, trade, minerals, and jewels. She's confident and good under stress, but prefers to be alone and very introverted. She also has a cute little puppy, named Zon Woundinks, and a strong dislike of slugs.
The next migrant is Rampartpaddle's cousin, Morul Noblerock, the stoneworker and hunter who gets assigned to the post of Head Marksdwarf. She is married, and her thirteen-year-old introverted son, Laboredapex, is coming along. (I thought that 13 was old enough to do a man's worth, but Noblerock claims otherwise, so...not going to argue with her.) Noblerock is a bit creepy--she likes some kind of demon, impulsive, nervous and easily discourageable, likes spears, thinks giant peach-faced lovebirds have teeth, and worships Itsbar. Noblerock allegedly used to be a member of some cult, and got sent here for that.
Next is Gulleytowers, a bat-hating, contentious, boastful potter/beekeeper. She is married and has one son.
Her husband, Smithportent, is a reserved woodcrafter who dislikes authority and tradition. I don't like him at all, and in fact decide to make him the first to stay in our jail, once it's completed.
We now have 25 dwarves.

In the middle of the migrantwave, Townbud (recall, the lady who carved up some patient's bones, was sent here, and became a miner) withdrew from society. She claims a mason's workshop and gets to work. I wonder what she's making...

-----

Does anyone want to claim a dwarf? We've got around 20 unclaimed.
EDIT: Fixed an age.

[GreatWyrmGold]

I decide to deal with the issue of surplus population in the traditional way: Military training.
Towards the start of Timber, Townbud begins her construction. She's got some ores, a ton of microcline, and the leather made from the giant slug.
Work is being done on some basic defenses--walls and stuff. Also a lever to raise a bunch of bridges, making our fortress impenetrable.
Townbud has finished! It's...not quite what I had been hoping for.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The Rumored Wills is a grate. A recursive grate. It has an image of our good king Rith, surrounded by dwarves, in microcline parts of the grate, forming the bulk of the front of the artifact. Other images include cushion gems in hematite (which are basically flat cushion-cut hematite chunks, and mixed with non-flat versions of the same), a pair of microcline mangroves dipping their roots into a microcline sea at the bottom, microcline bugbats flying around a microcline cross near the top, and a limonite dwarf in a flood of hematite cabochons. It's also encrusted with several types of stone and ore, has loose, hanging rings of microcline in artistic places, and has spikes of microcline and giant slug leather (the latter being more like stiff bits sticking off on side). It is worth 7,520 gold or so [112800 db]; the total value of our fortress is a bit under 23,600 gold, so this single item is worth almost half of the rest of the fortress.
On the 19th of Timber, the awaited supply caravan arrived. It was two wagons, four yaks, a water buffalo, a horse, four merchants, four military dwarves (two speardwarves, a hammerdwarf, and a macedwarf), and an outpost liason. I wondered why the liason traveled separately, and swiftly learned the answer: This wasn't a royal supply caravan. It was a group of merchants who had been sent here on royal order. They said that the crown would, of course, be taxing their profits.
“Profits?”
“You didn't think we'd be just giving all of these goods away, did you?” replied Meng, the caravan's leader. Then she laughed. I suspect I will come to loathe these freelance merchants. (They were kind enough to offer to trade goods at market value, though.)
Shortly after the merchants with pack animals rather than wagons arrived at the depot, a kobold was found, hiding in the fishery workshop. I ordered the Superior Mines, the squad lead by BerserkNINJA, and the Spears of Urging, the new speardwarf squad, to kill the thief. Unluckily for the kobold, Plaitmansions (one of the Superior Mines) was right next to him, fishing. Even less luckily, the heavily armed and armored caravan guards had noticed the thief. However, before anyone else could get there, Plaitmansions won himself some honor, lodging the kobold in the wall of the workshop.

I had both squads ordered to kill the kobold (who may have been named Troker, or maybe that was just his dying cry) station themselves by the gates, and had the Constructive Fortresses (the marksdwarf squad) station themselves at the depot.
Within a day or so of the kobold incident, the traders were ready. We traded a few surplus goods we had lying aound for miscellaneous supplies, like metal, weapons, armor, and food. We'd buy alcohol, but they don't seem to be interested in trading it. Or maybe I can't find it on their list of goods.
After some trading, I have the Spears of Urging patrol a bit around the fort. After that, I decide to let the militia return...although I had work on the wall around the fortress continued.
Trading continues. I don't like the free traders, and they don't like me. I do eventually get some alcohol.

Finally, just as all parties were at the breaking point, we ran out of things I felt like selling. The merchants promised to leave soon, and I swiftly left the depot. On the 16th of Moonstone, I started chatting with the liason. The first question I had is why the hell a bunch of free traders were replacing the royal supply caravan we were promised.
“Budget issues,” replied the liason.
“...”
“Well, you can't expect the crown to dole out precious steel to keep the biggest prison in the kindgom well-stocked with weapons.”
“Okay, first off, we've got maybe six prisoners, and all but one of those are going to be kept in the main part of the fort once we get an actual prison set up.”
“WHAT?!?”
“These guys aren't horrible monsters, you know. Most of them have made big contributions to our fortress. Take Townbud, that bone-carver.”
“Ah, yes, her. What about her?”
“In a sec. We're a lot more than a mere prison. For instance...remember the bonecarver?”
“Yeah, we were talking about her ten seconds ago.”
“Well, she's a miner better than any I've ever seen before. Also, let me show you something. It's evidence of a will behind our actions that we've heard rumors about...”

In other news, the dingo packs that have been roaming around the surface pretty much since the kobold showed up have been replaced by some giant dingoes. Oh, how I hope they stumble into our traps...

-----

Hel-lo-o! Is anyone out there?
Except Splint. (No offense intended.) Is anyone new out there?