Written upon several sheets of parchment are the logs of Tally Taranasmel detailing his brief reign as the Overseer of Bom Thikut. An astute translator may be able to translate the settlement's name to Human to mean: The Home of Books. They are all scattered upon the floor , with animal mud tracks beside them.
1st Granite, 503:
Today I have taken the reins over our home. Doc Rhyme has appointed me this position as overseer, having to step down to practice his medical studies in the hopes of saving future dwarves against the necromantic attacks we have endured. I will see what I can do to get everyone through this year.
The Ravens are Waiting, 22nd Granite
There are raven corpses waiting right outside our drawbridge. Their caws are haunting and gargled by necrotic flesh. I'm not sure what they're all gathered for but they're just waiting, as if planning something sinister.
1st Slate, 503:
More migrants have arrived. Those undead ravens still waited outside our home, as if waiting for their move. I had to do something fast, or we'd lose several dwarves who could be a boon to our fortress.
I quickly hatched a plan. Fortunately, I had expanded upon the cage traps set behind our drawbridge. I didn't have enough time to finish a second line of traps, however, so what happened next was a desperate move. Hastily, I told Pirate to station at the gate, and handed her a battle axe. She may be trained in swords, but this was the best we could do on short notice, as we had very little wood to spare on fuel.
The plan was to have Pirate serve as the bait to lock up those dead birds, but when Pirate saw the first drop of coagulation drip off those undead bones as they flapped to flock around her, she threw herself right into the fray! Within seconds, she had chopped one bird into a state beyond recognition, and moved onto the next. To my surprise, everything turned out okay. Pirate sustained only a few scratches and bites, but appeared no worse for it.
Over the next few days, the migrants hustled right in, wearing worried faces as they saw so many decaying body parts lying around.
5th Slate, 503: A cloud of blighted vapor drifted in from the north! It started dangerously close to our entrance, and STILL the migrants haven't finished making their way in! I'm surprised at how many damn dwarves are still coming! For now, I've left the gates open, but I'm ready to close it all down should any of that foul air come anywhere close. Unfortunately, a few of the migrants decided it would be a good idea to go fishing during this foul weather. I shall have to watch them closely.
9th Slate, 503: I finally did a headcount of all the migrants that showed up. 28 dwarves! Just that group alone is more than double our meager population. I'm at a loss of what to do with them all...
That evil cloud has passed for now, however. With the ravens and the cloud gone for now, this was the perfect time to go out and chop wood to fuel my forge. So much wood, so much charcoal! So many weapons shall be made.
19th Slate, 503: Pirate has given birth to a girl! Congratulations.
28th Slate, 503: Another victory for Pirate! A turkey zombie was harassing my dwarves, so I sent her after it. She took care of it flawlessly, not a single scratch on her.
8th Felsite, 503: I had told my miners to break through into the underground cavern half a month ago. After that, I got every capable hand I could down there to build a suitable wall to house the entrance, which has finished today! So far, no trouble has resulted, but we shall see what results.
19th Felsite, 503: The elven caravan has arrived. Meanwhile, naked mole dogs have been running through the underground cavern's tunnel. Watching Pirate try to kill them is like watching a farmer try to catch a muddy pig. It's amusing, but they just keep being a hassle to everyone, even if they don't bite. At least I can use them for cheap leather.
27th Felsite, 503: Pirate's a sneaky one. He chased that mole dog right into one of the cage traps at the entrance of our fort. I'm amused, and impressed at the same time. I also traded several of our less functional goods to the elves today in exchange for their alcohol and any non-cannibalistic food they had. I have a good enough income on both of those, but this is the only good thing elves are for anyway.
Just posting the Spring for now, a quick log to excuse my delay. And now, the question I shall pass on to you all! What should I do with all the migrants? Of them, the majority of them are only skilled at no-quality farm-related jobs, and only 3 or 4 dwarves skilled in any weaponry. Thankfully, 2 of those are swordsdwarves who will join Pirate's squad shortly. I have enough wood, limonite, and malachite now to make several light suits of armor, and already have 3 steel swords on the way.