1st Granite
'There.' I had pointed with my pick.
A small valley in the hill makes for a perfect camp - it provides early concealment from enemies from all three sides but one, and in future can be surrounded by high walls. I had the miner architect 'Simon' and his assistant tap around the area, and their prospecting report is sandy clay as a top soil, and a sedimentary layer just a layer under the top soil. I quickly relay my requests to Simon - an entrance and corridor into the soil, a room in the soil, and a common's room in the stone.
As expected, as the we hauled our supplies within the small valley between the elevation, the shoveling of dirt turned to the striking of stone. I take comfort in the fact that soon I will sleep underneath a proper stone roof instead of a covered wagon's plank.
I survey the rocky wasteland we've found ourselves in, standing atop one of the walls. While not quite at the side of a mountain as a traditional dwarves fortress, the area is actually a good place for fortress making. To the north lies a mountain filled with the unmistakable gleam of iron ore as well as the dull flux stone of dolomite covered with sparse grass. The rocky wasteland is thinly covered with loose soil and it is but a short way downwards before reaching the gleaming white marble, which is laced with veins of coal and copper ore.
The wildlife is not exactly inhospitable nor threatening as I watch a pair of frisky kangaroos fornicating in the distance… although I had to flick off a venomous bark scorpion from my work boot.
...
11th Granite
Designated the construction of some workshops in the commons room.
Stationed a watcher at the main tunnel, while saber toothed tigers patrolled the stockpiles. Should any suspicious person attempt to enter through sword or invisible sorcery, the watcher will warn us and the tigers will do the work. We have not yet the proper forges set up yet, so the animals will need to protect us for now. I doubt, with Bomrek's soldiers out, that any big threats will be lurking our direction anyway, and a sabre tooth cat is more than a match for a kobold thief. I thought of positioning the cannon beetles outside, but decide against it. They are too valuable to risk, though the confines all but negates the usefulness of their range.
16th Granite
Our last bits of dried cave fish have run dry. Crude tables and chairs were created in the masons workshop. The camel and yak that pulled our wagons, I order to be butchered to be put atop the newly made masonry.
24th Granite
Dining room area set up.
Farm set up in the empty room in the soil. For now, this will serve. In future, farms will be moved down, and this room can be basement to a tower or something.
11th Slate
There was a rather panicky moment today as Simon, the architect that had been quick to befriend everyone, rushed into the common's room as we sat down for a meal, released the breath of air he had been holding and yelled about a sandstorm that had descended upon our camp!
I quickly did a head count… Everyone was here … except Simon's apprentice miner, Bomrek, had been left outside! We quickly reopened the door to hail him back in, but I could see nothing through the twister of blinding sands. I was knocked down by a hail of blinding dust. Likot and Erib, the two guardsmen, rushed forth to heave the door back closed. Regrettably, we camped by the door and waited for the dust storm to pass instead. No point losing more dwarves.
13th Slate
The sandstorm passed, but the damage was done. We opened the door and found our campsite turned into a mass of mountains of shimmering sands - our lumber stockpile. The surreal scene, quiet plains of endless expanse of glimmering sand, is captivating until a mountain of sand suddenly groaned.
It would appear that Bomrek had been taking a nap outside when digging out the moat and other earthern defenses. He had simply slept through the entire damn thing, although that had not spared him the worst effect of the sandstorm:
Slate 15th
Despite his temporary blindness, Bomrek is still remarkably able to carve out the moat and defenses I've designated. He is recovering, and it seems that he will regain his sight shortly. What great need has dwarves got of eyes, anyway? The darkness of the underground has always made it so, and dwarves are a resilient people anyway.
(the little room by the side I sketched is to be an office for someone who is constantly needed to take the field. A captain of sorts, perhaps.)
A wall and portcullis on the moat is in order, and the mason Taho has been commissioned to build up his supply of building materials to prepare to construct the bridge. A curtain wall will also be constructed on the hills surrounding us, in future hopefully filled with murder holes and the like.
Note to self: Due to sandstorms, the walls that will station marksmen must be high, else they are in danger of being blinded should a sandstorm sweep up during a battle.
10th Felsite
Fortunately, the first harvest of plump helmets are taken in. Drunken Cave Ogre has been set to making crude pots to store the wine we shall extract from it. The plump helmets have meanwhile been prohibited to be eaten or cooked, despite Drunken Cave Ogre's loud displeasure. I explain his name will need to be changed if the plump helmets are gobbled up before a brewer can get to them.
19th Felsite
A sandstorm hurriedly came by our camp, and left. We bolted up the doors and waited for it to pass.
20th Felsite
The sandstorm did not linger, and soon we were able to return to work.
1st Hematite
Summer has come. Still no word at all from the soldiers that had left us.
3rd Hematite
Disaster of a minor sort struck today. The bridge had been completed, but upon closer inspection, it proved to be too small to allow wagons to pass through. I blame 'Tahu', but soon I notice it was indeed my hand that had designed it to fault. Still, the mason should probably have taken the initiative. I order it torn down and rebuilt.
However, as Tahu grumpily disassembled the shining marble bridge, suddenly a cloud of sand, previously unnoticed, descended on the camp. I quickly yell at him to run back inside, the twister of blinding dust hot on his tail. He barely made it inside as I bolted back up the doors.
10th Hematite
The sand finally subsided. We resume work as normal. The plump helmets now flow as a cheap and bland wine. A party was organized throughout the night by DCOgre and Simon, although I'm guessing
someone was a bit over excited about the booze...
Off comes the beard!
[OOC: DCOgre's a female... How did I not notice that? I thought the entire embark was male...]
On a less amusing note, Bomrek's soldiers quarters are to be dug out now, and I send the miners upon the hard granite under the marble to dig out first their commons room (a large hall), followed by their individual rooms and workshops (not quite designated yet). This will allow us to take care of two problems at once - we shall acquire stone for constructs as well as space to avoid Bomrek's displeasure.
However much as I dislike the young lordling, his absence (along with many able bodied soldiers) has been duly noted. It's been an entire season since he had ridden forth, yet not a word had came back, through foot or trained beasts. I fear the worst for the men I had sent with him.
23rd Hematite
I notice a group of dwarves approach our campsite from the south. It's men from Bomrek, I was relieved to see. I spot a familiar face- Duthtish Dulcimalnis, who was my household and company blacksmith. A capable dwarf, although a little slow in the head. There was also a paid laborer (whom I assign to help Tahu with masonry work), a swordsdwarf I had acquainted with during the march, and one of Bomrek's retainers, an adequately skilled glassblower.
All of them report that the military caravan is well, although unnerved. The alien rocky wasteland has taken it's toll on the men, and the exhaustion caused by that was not helped by Bomrek's orders to march through the night. The horrifying scream that had echoed the day they left was caused by a pair of dwarven outriders screening the caravan. Their corpses - what had been left - had not been a pretty sight. Duthtish and the laborer were both assigned to their proper burials, and Duthtish swears that he had seen nothing like the wounds on the remains. 'No weapon I had ever seen a goblin wield could cause such butchery' he had uttered. The laborer echoes this, though the word of a trained weapon smith was enough for me.
The military caravan had tracked the things that did this further to the west into the rocky wasteland, and despite their exhaustion they had not lost anyone to desertions or to whatever committed the butchery. The scouts have reported ominous silence with the wildlife, and the men are on edge.
Blue - Akil Bukog
Grey Line - The way the military caravan went out to.
This band was sent back to report our findings and issue Bomrek's command to prepare ample provisions and 'proper' lodgings for his return. I question why Bomrek allowed an unarmed band to return now, whereas the swordsdwarf, Thob, admitted, abashed, that he had lost his sword in a storm along the way. I reassure him I'll have a new one forged. They continue to relay Bomrek's orders; a 'feast' should be in order, and Bomrek would be pleased to find the metalwork working on finer and expensive metals for furniture and utensils. I send the dwarves out of my office at this point.
I decide to send the laborer to help with mason work, the glassworker to work with stone crafting to trade, blacksmith to forging weapons and swordsdwarf to spar with one of the guardsmen as soon as the weapons are ready.
A few minutes after one of the guardsmen hurried off with the list of assignments to these new able bodies, the glassworker storms into my office and complains that stone and chisel is not her forte, her hands are built only to handle the most exquisite and delicate of crafting arts. I tell her we have no means to create glass yet, but she ignores me and continues. She demands that in future she be exempt from 'peasant work' of hauling, as her connections to Bomrek demands a higher treatment than anyone 'lowborn'.
From her attire, I can tell she is obviously a dwarf of some breeding. Therefore, I warn her that she will work with stone or be entombed in it. She is escorted out by the newly armed guards, face reddening and spluttering.
While I enjoy these minor little triumphs on these uptight highborn, Bomrek will have to realize the logistical reasons behind this. I have no one else to spare, and a noble lurking about making things to trade will help with obtaining items from merchants. It's infinitely better than manual labor, after all.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Tesum the Glassblower
Thob the Swordsdwarf
Zalis the Laborer (now dabbling mason)
Duthtish the Weapon Prodigy
Next update will be up shortly. Preferably today, in fact. Just gotta write up the story with the notes. Please point out any inconsistencies and such if you spot any. Had to make so many edits to this and that, there's bound to be a couple mistakes here and there.
Feel free to dwarf yourself, too. I can always just change their names, since I haven't released anything from since the migrants arrived.
Criticisms are welcome. It helps with future writings.
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Topic: *=*=* Akil Bukog - A LFR Succession Fortress *=*=* (Read 8826 times)