4 Sandstone: Citizens Rejoice! The Man of Wood Opal, Gogol Donusut, has seen fit to come to the depths below our fortress! Some may see the arrival of a Forgotten Beast to be a herald of doom, but I say it is a herald of the Time of Dwarven Glory! They that were old when the world was new shall rise to bring forth the ruination of the hated goblins and foolish elves and humans. But, if we hold firm, we will be spared their terrible wrath to inherit the new world that they leave in their wake.
(
It got into a forgotten wing of the fortress from the caverns, but thankfully I walled off that wing as part of my mad cavern-sealing attempts. It includes tons of spaces I couldn't divine the nature of, and the tomb of Dash27. I'll probably have to carve a slab for him if the thing wrecks his coffin.)
25 Timber: Citizens Rejoice! Soon we shall be a Barony, and I shall be your Baron! Our Glory is ever increasing, and none shall say that I did not lead you from the darkness! In light of this, I shall appoint another to administer day-to-day affairs such as overseeing and brewing come the new year. We 37 dwarves of Hauntedhalls are the most devoted on the continent. The Chosen Ones are among us! Praise to Armok and Zuden!
While we await another Brewer to take my place, I have ordered seeds and drink from the mountainhomes, to protect us from lean futures.
1 Moonstone: Citizens Rejoice! Winter is upon us -- the Season of Death, and Therefore the Season of Hauntedhalls! In death, all things are possible. In Death, we will find new life. I know some of you still complain of the restless ghosts of the failed, those who were not Chosen Ones, and died in the Times of Troubles. Those days will soon end, as their earthly remains are sealed in stone in the crypts, and I have taken steps to assure that the Times of Troubles do not afflict us again. All Glory to the Gods, and I their Prophet!
11 Moonstone: Citizens Rejoice! We now have more coffins than places to put them in the pre-existing graves of the servants. I have ordered a new maze of the dead dug out, that will be filled with coffins as they are created. I have done this even though I know it shall slow the construction of my new quarters -- but alas, all things in this world require sacrifice, and by this token you shall know that I sacrifice for all of you!
(
A wide-angle look at the freshly designated maze: This was going to be one of the projects for my reign, before I unpaused and suffered the Panic. I might actually complete at least this much, too.)
22 Moonstone: Citizens, Rejoice! One of our fine doctors has been struck with Divine Inspiration!
6 Opal: Citizens, Rejoice! The Artifact is completed, and it is an instrument worthy of being played by a Chosen One, and named to truly represent our struggles and our shared sacrifice in Hauntedhalls. BEHOLD!
18 Opal: Citizens, Rejoice! Our long task of Engineering is complete, and the Cistern will now fill!
11 Obsidian: Citizens Rejoice! Not only is the Well at the Hospital finally active, but I now have all I need to be your Baron, and the Maze of the Dead is nearly dug out! Today is a glorious day in Hauntedhalls!
26 Obsidian: Citizens Rejoice! We have filled every barrel and pot in Hauntedhalls! We will never go thirsty again!
1 Granite, 207: Citizens Rejoice! The Times of Troubles are now firmly behind us. When I took this post a year ago today, we were a mass driven by fear, nearly made extinct. now, our glorious fortress is a Barony, recognized by the Mountainhomes from whence we came. Soon enough, the star of our fortune shall rise ever higher. But, as I am now a Baron, I must look to the Whole Realm that belongs to us, rather than the day-to-day management of Hauntedhalls. One among you shall rise, and become a new overseer today. Today, our march out of the ashes is complete, and our march to glory begins!
Also, could someone haul the indicated statues to my tomb? I fear the efforts of other former overseers may drive me to it early if this isn't done.
Atolled... How I wish I had never heard that name. To know why I have seen beyond the shadow of this life has shaken me to my very core. I might keep brewing, when we have pots and barrels again... It is a soothing hobby, that deadens the whispers telling me to claim the whole of the world in the name of Tevish Szat. Not my own name... Whatever name I had before Tevish Szat returned as described in the Page of Atolled, I do not know. It has been lost to the ages, possibly destroyed. I doubt Atolled the Engraver was the first, either, though he was likely the first Tevish Szat within Hauntedhalls.
Why this name... Why I have chosen Hauntedhalls, why there is the drive to mad grandeur... I do not know. All I know is that I am glad my reign is coming to an end: A Fortress' Baron, something I could not resist making myself, is far less important in some ways than its overseer. A baron cannot order the depths to be dug, or the plans for magma engineering that dance in my head to be constructed.
I can retire from Overseership firm in the belief that I and Tevish Szat have done what was best for Hauntedhalls, that we have recovered from the plague of madness and death that crept over us one year ago. However, I cannot step down... or up as the case may be... knowing that I shall remain myself. In fact, I suspect it will be quite the opposite, and soon enough Tevish Szat will be all that remains of me, or at the very least we will be one in the same.
I fear it... and yet at the same time I welcome it. I will, at least not be gnawed at by conflict, even if I will wet out to do what those whispers in the foggy reaches of my mind tell me to do.
By Armok... No, Armok is the god of Tevish Szat. By Zuden, my god, lord of Fortresses, may Hauntedhalls prosper.
Hauntedhalls:
Quick Facts for the Next Overseer:
1) We're out of barrels, and so can't brew any more booze. As you can see from the stocks, though, that isn't a big deal
2) Though I didn't get around to renaming the migrants, most of them have the "Slave" setup, which means they have masonry and stone detailing enabled. This is great for having a legion of unskilled dwarves build walls and smooth stone, which was my goal, but won't be so great if you decide to do engraving! Additionally, a ton of dwarves have mining enabled, because jobs just weren't getting done for a while.
3) The Cistern is now full enough to operate the well, which is right next to the Hospital. I don't know if my depressurization mechanism has worked yet, though I can't see any reason why it wouldn't.
4) There are two levers critical to the operation of the Fortress. The first lever is made in Microcline and is in the Well room. It opens and closes the floodgate that fills the Well Cistern. It's currently open, I don't know why you would ever close it, assuming pressure doesn't start a flood, but it's there. The other is Bauxite, and is in what I judged to be the fortress commons
This lever opens and closes the Drawbridge at the main gate. It's closed right now, for safety, since we don't even have the beginnings of a functional military. I'd recommend opening it for migrants in general because we need all the dwarves we can get, but only for traders you absolutley want to deal with: the caravan from the mountainhomes, probably.
5) There are two ghosts left in Hauntedhalls, but we're crafting coffins, and I think there are even some in the Maze that haven't been placed/flagged for burial left. This is a good thing, as at our worst point, we might have had more ghosts than living dwarves. Also, I think the last violent one was laid to rest.
6)
THIS IS MOST IMPORTANT: There are some parts of the fortress that are sealed off: we had maybe a dozen entrances to the caverns, but I was able to cut off most of them at a couple strategic choke points. Now, we have a nice stairway down to the magma industries (Which might need to be reinforced against fire imps: I didn't do that). Don't remove constructed walls or dig around them if you don't want to suffer death by forgotten beast, especially since our current one would be deadly hard to kill.
Views of Hauntedhalls:
Note: As a finishing touch, and because my dwarf would otherwise be driven mad, I ordered other high value statues (gold, silver, steel) added. Please do not cancel/suspend those builds -- when they finish, I can hope my tomb will outvalue Welshman's
Named Dwarves:
Note: After I found the lesser's burial thought, I ordered high base value statues placed in the tomb, so correction is on the way.
Also, Zuden: