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[Myrkky100]

Oceanquest
Fun by the Seashore 

(As a short intro, I’m a fairly new player but I think I’ve pretty much grasped the basics of building a fortress in a vanilla environment (neutral biome with trees and ores and no aquifer). I figured starting on the shore would be a nice way to add a bit of challenge and writing a story as I go along would add a new level to the experience. So I hope some of you may find this amusing and that I can find the time to update at least semi-regularly.)

In the year 126 seven dwarves of the Even Trumpets left the Mountainhome of the Hot Chambers to trek west across the Prairies of Sculpture to the shores of the Combined Ocean. Their ruler had given them a historical mission: the create the first dwarven colony away from the mountains. The seven heroic pioneers were:

Ast Rogithshorast: Expedition leader, accountant and trader

Atir Enamkubuk (Female): Fisherdwarf

Litlbear: Cook and brewer

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Dusky: Mason, died of thirst in 129 while heroically sealing off the Second Cavern. Though there really was no hurry and nobody can figure out why he walled himself into a hole.

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Masam: Carpenter

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Vutok Oslanteshkad (Female): Farmer

MrWillsauce (Female): Miner

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Other notable residents later included:

CognitiveDissonance: Cheesemaker, 1st Mayor of Oceanquest, Instigator of the Great Earring Riot of 127, arrived on 17th Limestone 126

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Vellum: Glassmaker, arrived on 17th Limestone 126

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Destra: Bone carver, arrived on 1st Felsite 127

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Dr_Nocturne: Fisherdwarf, arrived on 17th Limestone 126

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bp920091: Fisherdwarf, arrived on 1st Felsite 127

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DawnofDarkness: Brewer, arrived on 19th Granite 128

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Tehsapper: Mason, arrived on 19th Granite 128

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Journal of expedition leader Ast Rogithshorast

1st Granite, 126, Early Spring:

“We need to diversify. We need a steady source of fish. Let’s build a new colony on the shore of the ocean.” That’s easy for the King to say, sitting behind the walls of the Mountainhome. He has never even seen the ocean. This place is friggin’ horrifying! The waves never stop roaring! The sky is full of humongous monster birds! For Armok’s sake, there aren’t even proper hills here, just that one mound of sand!

Okay, okay, let’s calm down, if I lose my head there is nobody to figure out how we are supposed to survive here. And it’s not like this is a desert crawling with the undead. We have trees, we can make beds and at least temporary gates. The bottoms of some of the pools seem to be stone so most likely we can even do some proper dwarven building and this sand should be good for farming so we can get a still working. And at least so far the giant albatrosses seem to be mucking about on the beach instead of coming over to peck my eyes out… nay, if they wanted they could just take my head off my shoulders with a single strike of a beak.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

6th Granite, 126:

We held a quick little striking the earth-ceremony. To add insult to injury this place had to be named Oceanquest, as per the order of the King. If I ever get back to the mountains, that stupid royal poet will have a very unfortunate accident, all that drivel about the wise dolphins and the mysteries of the deep…

MrWillsauce (that poisonous toad) has started digging into the wall of the sandy bank. I told her the entrance tunnel should have a bit of a twist so our guard dogs can’t be shot with arrows from the outside. She is just now finishing three chambers, one for the depot, one to safely store all our gear in and a third as a primitive living quarter. Masam has already set off to clear the immediate surroundings and make lumber. We have put the fowl and horses out to pasture and now just wait to get underground again.

2nd Slate, 126, Mid-Spring:

So far so good. All the gear has been hauled inside and the dogs guard the entrance so we finally have a safe place to rest even if we still have to sit on the floor. Atir says the fishing is good in the tidal pool and she has brought in many pond turtles. Better yet, MrWillsauce has for once been doing something besides whining. She has carved a stairway downstairs and dug two exploratory passages. The one towards the ocean hit sandstone, which shall be quarried post haste for building materials. Then we can build some farming halls and a still along the eastern passage and start acting like civilized dwarves again.

PS. There is a huge moon snail with arms and a face crawling along the shoreline. I don’t think it’s dangerous but I want a gate and soon…

[CognitiveDissonance]

Good luck with the ocean! If you encounter whales, make sure to show them to necromancers. For fun.
Will you let people claim dwarves, or leave it as your narrative?

[Myrkky100]

I'm so hoping this ocean has whales...

Dwarves are certainly up for adoption, expect Ast who shall be my personal avatar. Also, Ast and Zefron the miner have grudge which will be reflected in the journal, so if someone claims her, be ready for a steady stream of verbal abuse. I'll add a list of the original 7 into the first post.

[MrWillsauce]

I'll take Zefron. Name him MrWillsauce. Bring on the abuse.

[masam]

I'll take the Carpenter and name him Masam.  any chance of turning him into a combat dwarf later on?

[Myrkky100]

16th Felsite, 126, Late Spring:

Glorious day! The still has produced the first batch of ale! Life here may be tolerable after all. At least once we develop a taste for raw pond turtle… Atir has become so obsessed with catching the damn things she doesn’t find any time to prepare them and nobody else can be speared.

Masam’s carpentry shop has been built on the first level. Vutok has prepared a small farm plot in a hall on the second, near the still, the unfortunately underutilized fishery and kitchen. Since the sandstone quarry formed a quite large cavern, I decided to have both stone working stations there, no point in carrying the boulders around.

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Ground level

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Farm and quarry

22nd Hematite, 126, Early Summer:

Curse the ocean! Even here it feels like I can sense the roar of the waves on the shore and the crushing weight of the masses of water pressing against these stone walls, though I know it is impossible.

We dug a third passage a little way south and sealed it with a door in case of further exploration accidentally hit an aquifer horizontally. A had a blazing row with MrWillsauce and finally got it into her head that I’m not being reckless and the door is secure enough for now, so she mustered the courage to start digging another stairway again. About 9 meters down she hit mudstone, then sand and a 25 meters down another layer of mudstone with a vein of tetrahedrite in it. And still no aquifer! Space and materials won’t be at all as scarce as I had feared.

Since about 8 levels fit between the surface and the tetrahedrite vein, I had MrWillsauce carve quarters for the party and an office for myself. Nothing fancy, yet, but at least I can have a place to sit and do the bookkeeping. Later I’ll have the room enlarged, smoothed and decorated a bit. It’ll be much nicer than what I ever had in the Mountainhome. But still... There I felt safe, deep among the roots of the mountains. Here, no matter how deep I go, I can feel the big blue terror, waiting patiently to crush us all...

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Sleeping quarters and office

[Myrkky100]

17th Malachite, 126, Mid-Summer:

A group of migrants arrived from the mountains today. There are eight of them but half are children. Children! What were they thinking dragging dwarflings all the way across the plains to a brand new colony? I’ll put them to work helping Vutok with the fields, maybe that will keep them so busy they won’t have time to fall into a hole or get kidnapped or something…

The grownups were a cook, two craftdwarves and a shearer, who will be shearing fish from now on. The craftsdwarves are needed, we need to make nestboxes for the fowl and start producing things we can barter with when the caravan shows up. They also brought to horse foals so now we have proper herd. A pen of some sort must be built soon.
People have been complaining that they are tired of sitting on the ground so I told MrWillsauce to carve out a drinking hall above the sleeping rooms. The lazy bastard had the audacity to claim summer vacation and the work has just now started. May her beard tangle.

On the wildlife scene, the giant albatrosses were driven away by a flock of sparrow men.

2nd Limestone, 126, Early Autumn:

The turkey hatchery has been completed, soon we should have eggs to eat as well as fish. And we shall not be eating standing up, the drinking hall comes along well. The last of the rubble is just now being carried out and soon we can start setting up the furniture. A new stockpile has also been dug on the second level, the one on ground floor will be dedicated to trade goods only.

19th Limestone, 126. Early Autumn:

More immigrants, 9 of them this time, including three kids. One is an accomplished mason but the others don’t have any skills we need. Especially CognitiveDissonance, the one who doesn't shut up about what a great cheese maker he is, gets on my nerves. And I’d also like to know what they were thinking in the Mountainhome, sending us an animal dissector… Well, they shall soon learn new, more practical skills, like fishing and cutting wood.

26th Sandstone, 126, Mid-Autumn:

Building work has progressed well. The drinking hall is ready, as are the new sleeping rooms. The guard dog gave birth to puppies, so a room was dug out for them. Also, next to the stockpiles, MrWillsauce carved three large cavers. One for the wood furnace, one for the smelter and a third for a forge. We must start making our own weapons and armour soon, though it will necessarily be slow going since we don’t have fuel other than charcoal.

Leaves are turning red and yellow, the trace caravan should arrive soon. We have a small stockpile of rock crafts and musical instruments so we can barter for the necessities at least.

12th Timber, 126, Late Autumn:

Dusky, the recently arrived mason has gone weird. He just up and took some stone and ran to workshop and has been working non-stop since. I tried to talk with him but he just grunted and threw tools at me. I must figure out how to proceed with this…

15th Timber, 126, Late Autumn:

The caravan is finally here. I must make sure they don’t see Dusky, he looks quite disturbing after working for three days without sleep but at least he has now finished the thing he just had to make. A fancy sandstone bed. if you would believe. Apparently living so near the ocean has gotten to him as well, he insists that this creation of his is to be called the “The Depth of the Deeps”, so I for one am not sleeping in it no matter how fancy it is.

Anyway, I must prepare to meet the outpost liason. We don’t have much to trade with so I must make a good impression.

---

Well, that  went comparatively well. We got a second pick and assorted foodstuffs in exchange for the crafts and a barrel of fish. But why can't there be any normal animals here? Masam just came running in, he claims he was in the woods cutting lumber when he was accosted by a flock of giant wrens. Giant wrens! That's just wrong! Though on the other hand, they might be good eating...

[Dusky]

Oh, can i have Deler please and could you rename him Dusky?

[CaptainLambcake]

can i have cook please?  name him litlbear.

[CognitiveDissonance]

Could I please have the Master Cheese Maker?

[Myrkky100]

Thank you all for your interest, all requests have been noted and I will retcon all the names into the journal as soon as I find a bit of free time. I'll also post the attributes of each of the adoptees. As for the Masam's request regarding combat roles, once the militia is up and running all adopted dwarves will be drafted to give them a chance to experience some personal growth (or reduction, if things turn funny).

[Myrkky100]

27th Moonstone, 126, Early Winter

The merchants have left and the winter has come. First the small pools above the entrance froze and last night even the sea was covered with ice. Not quite up to the shore but at least the waves are smaller and don’t roar quite so loudly.

In an effort to find ores besides tetrahedrite, I had an exploratory tunnel dug southeast from the drinking hall. The tunnel runs all the way to the river but the Earth yields only more mudstone, tetrahedrite and some gems. Exploration will continue but I guess we can make do with copper armor and silver warhammers for now. 

6th Opal, 126, Mid-Winter

Well I’ll be! That little fat girl Urvad ran into a flock of crow people in the woods. And instead of running away she pretty much mauled one of them! She got a nasty bump on the head in the process but still, great to see that the proper pioneering spirit is to be found among the younger generation.

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Which reminds me, perhaps we could combine the exploratory mining effort with an infirmary building project…

18th Obsidian, 126, Late Winter

Well, good things only last so long. Ral and Likot were heading outside and guess what they found skulking near the front gates? A bloody Kobold, that’s what. It ran off before we had time to set the dogs on it but this certainly means that enemies are aware of our colony here. There are bound to be more thieves but with the dogs guarding the entrance I’m not too worried. However, sooner or later news of our presence will travel from the Kobold caves to the local Goblin settlements and that will invariable tempt raiding parties to show up. I’ve reassigned Ral to work the wood furnace and build up a stockpile of charcoal as a first step towards crafting weapons.

I drew the plans for a cistern with a hospital above and set MrWillsauce to the task. And surprise, surprise, she does everything in her power to screw it up. She keeps insisting my drawings had a above ground entrance into the feeder channel and that I modified them later to hide my mistake. The nerve! And anyway, if I hadn’t stepped in while the cistern was being hollowed out, she would have dug out the last piece of rock supporting a slab hanging straight over her empty head. I mean, she is supposed to be the professional miner here! Anyways, the work progresses quite well and we should be able to start installing floodgates fairly soon. Which reminds me, Dusky has really been coming along with his masonry; half of the furniture he churns out is practically masterpiece quality.

23rd Obsidian, 126, Late Winter:

Congratulations, MrWillsauce! You’ve done it again! Way to hit the aquifer from below!

---

Well, the situation isn’t really that bad. The aquifer seems to be pouring out fresh water and because I had the foresight to have the channel incorporate a pressure lock at both ends, there is no danger that the cistern will overflow and flood the whole place. Of course, because the cistern was only half finished it will be quite small but since it should immediately replenish with groundwater that shouldn’t pose a problem either. And seeing MrWillsauce scared out of her wits, soaked from head to toe and covered with mud was naturally also very amusing. Like some wise beard once said, “We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.”

1st Granite, 127, Early Spring:

Well, we made it through the first year. There are now 24 of us, including 7 dwarflings, and we’ve not had a single fatality so far! I’d consider that a small miracle this, considering how far we are from civilization. I did some calculations last night and it turns out we’ve already produced over 31 000 dwarfbucks worth of stuff. The food and drink stockpiles are also well stocked and we are steadily producing more. Everybody has a basic bedroom and we can soon start producing some more furniture for them. For now, we have at sufficient supplies of stone, ore and timber and the production of crafts for trade is going pretty well.

In the following year we should look at finishing the hospital, producing weapons and armor and getting a militia going. While it is not customary in the mountains,  I think here the surroundings dictate we must also start building above ground, to secure the entrance and protect the horses from beasts and intruders.

[Myrkky100]

1st Slate, 127, Early Spring:

Atir’s voice just dropped four octaves and she insists she must have sole use of the craftdwarf’s shop for a while. I agreed mainly because she has this grin, which I guess is meant to look friendly, but which seems to indicate willingness to bite my head if necessary.

17th Slate, 127, Mid-Spring:

23 eggs hatched in the turkey coop. I shall have poults moved to another room. The horses have also produced 3 young over the winter so a butcher’s shop needs to be set up.

We finally produced the first bars of silver as well. Unfortunately Atir proceeded to nick them in short order. I know behavior like this should be nipped at the bud but she is still grinning at me, so I’ll give her a pass this time.

23rd Slate, 127, Mid-Spring:

Well, Atir finally finished that thing she just had to make. I don’t see what the fuss was about, its just a wooden amulet with some quite nice silver decorations. Well, at least she isn’t grinning any more…

1st Felcite, 127, Late Spring:

Bleeding hell, 28 immigrants wondered out of the woods this morning. Lucky we’ve been digging some extra bedrooms and everything but still, this over doubles our numbers. Well, at least this bunch is mostly adults with fairly good skill sets. No metalcrafters but somebody just needs to learn. Anyway, now we can get the work distribution a bit more professional, the most qualified people don’t have to carry stuff around anymore. The drinking hall could use some smoother walls, just like my office for that matter, and of course we need sturdy hands to hold warhammers soon.

---

There was grumbling that since the place is already so big, we need a mayor. As if I haven’t managed this place well enough so far! Ungrateful peasants… I agreed to hold an election, figuring they would just pick some dolt who could act as a figurehead while I continued to be the real brains behind the operation. And just guess who they picked? Mr. Oh-What-Great-Cheese-I-Can-Make CognitiveDissonance!! I’ll get an ulcer before the winter…

23rd Felsite, 127, Late Spring:

Even while we are laboring to get everyone settled in, construction work must continue in other parts of the fortress. With the influx of people some of the corridors we excavated a year ago have become over congested and I have had them widened. Also, a forge has been built and the first copper crossbows are on their way.

I ordered the eastern flank of the hill to be cleared of trees and cut vertical. An archery range will be set up there, and later a barracks as well. The passage into the building site was punched straight through from the trade depot. This is a bit risky because for a while there will be a second entrance that goes past the guard dogs but I judged it to be worth the risk to speed up the actual building work. Speed is of the essence, since more kobolds have been seen sneaking around. One even stabbed Ral in the foot!

9th Malachite, 127, Mid-Summer:

12 new immigrants arrived today. Luckily, one of them is a blacksmith who knows a thing or two about weapons and armor. We now have half a dozen crossbows but just as I feared, the production of charcoal hasn’t been able to keep up and the production of bolts has been very slow. Luckily at least the still and kitchen are working, we needed to expand the food stockpiles near the drinking hall.

The walls of the archery range have also taken longer than I had hoped. Dusky is having trouble comprehending that he can’t build a wall on the spot he is standing in and with all the new arrivals causing a demand for doors, coffers and cabinets, the masons have their hands full. If only we could get the basic fortifications built, we could turn our attention to seeking a better source of fuel for the forge.

‘Mayor’ CognitiveDissonance has been bugging me for months about wanting a nicer room. As if we all don’t want nice rooms! And now he has mandated that we should produce three earrings… Yes, I’m sure it is very important and not just his mayorship enjoying bossing people about…

[CognitiveDissonance]

There was grumbling that since the place is already so big, we need a mayor. As if I haven’t managed this place well enough so far! Ungrateful peasants… I agreed to hold an election, figuring they would just pick some dolt who could act as a figurehead while I continued to be the real brains behind the operation. And just guess who they picked? Mr. Oh-What-Great-Cheese-I-Can-Make CognitiveDissonance!! I’ll get an ulcer before the winter…

Oh man, I just lost it there Guess making cheese makes you very popular with the peasants...

----------------

Journal of Cognitive Dissonance, the First and Greatest Mayor of Oceanquest:

"How am I supposed to run things, or even keep a journal, without proper offices? The Chief of Staff, as I like to call him, really needs to get on this. Just yesterday, I mandated a construction of wooden cheesemaking facilities so I can practice my craft, and bring happiness to my citizens. Cheese makes a fortress better, motivates the workers, brightens halls and sweetens plump helmet wine. And I can make the best cheese there is.

But apparently my request came through as "earrings". That's what happens when I don't have an Office to work from. I would punch somebody in the ear until it rings... either way, now I can't withdraw that or I will look incompetent. They better get to work. If only I had proper quarters, and some cheese... I'm sure those horses could spare some milk for my labour.

I overheard the Chief of Staff complaining of ulcers. I told him that cheese is great at treating ulcers, and easing one's stress."

[neotemplar]

Dwarf me as Vellum, crossbow and glassmaker.