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Hive World goal (same as the original Machinespires)

3 (60%)

Giant statue to Armok

0 (0%)

Mine out the entire embark site down to the Magma Sea

0 (0%)

Colonize the Circus

2 (40%)

Total Members Voted: 5

Voting closed: April 08, 2013, 07:42:10 am

[Doctor_Whiteface]

I feel it's worth mentioning in an out-of-character note here that my intent for Machinespires is to make it into a hive similar to those described in the Warhammer 40k universe. I was just going to make it a large, self-sustained, and impregnable fortress with very basic security, but I decided that given the fortuitous name I might as well do something epic with it. Construction of the first tower began in the month of Felsite, first year of the fortress, and I intend to keep going until I've filled up the entire embark area with towers carved with epic scenery.

Anyways, on to the fortress.



Dispatch from the Dwarven Throne
To the Expeditionary Team assigned to the land known as Machinespires, presently undeveloped
We applaud the seven of you for bravely volunteering for this duty, to strive to create an outpost on the edge of a lake is no small undertaking and will earn you much honor in Our eyes. It would be better, in Our opinion, if the site were located further from the lake, but there is little enough land to work with as things stand. You will receive dispatches periodically.



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 1st day of the month of Granite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the First
We have begun. The land is flat and composed of black sand with scrub grass and trees atop, the climate is warm, and a giant grasshopper grazes peacefully on the scrub to the north. A weasel the size of a Taller cavorts in the shallow water to the north of our position, and we have begun excavation of the entrance to our hall. Soundings on the lake to the west of our embarkation point reveal it to be approximately five heights of a dwarf deep. Chief Fisherdwarf Astesh Strokeballs who has an unfortunate surname will be fishing by one of the ponds, presumably, though if she chooses to fish by the lake we will not attempt to tell her otherwise. She is, at the ending of things, the Chief Fisherdwarf of our expedition, and I would no more tell her the workings of her labor than she would me.



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 7th day of the month of Granite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Second
We have initiated the first stages of deforestation, which will take some time and yield good profit. Wood will serve for bedding-material until the more properly designed giant mushrooms from the Cavernous Places may be located. Chief Miner Bembul Boltedfolded has descended below the earth to begin digging the food-growing designations from the black sand that makes up the soil of this area. What else he may be doing, I have neither knowledge nor want of knowledge towards. The grasshopper grazes peacefully now in the south. I will take soundings of the others to see if they might desire the formation of a militia to discourage the grasshopper from peacefully grazing too near our camp.



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 14th day of the month of Granite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Third
It has begun raining, causing mild annoyance all around. Assistant Miner Iton Sizzlecastle with the ominous surname formerly Chief Fishcleaner Iton Sizzlecastle has spent the week helping Chief Miner Bembul Boltedfolded in the excavation of a storage space for the storage of items so that we will no longer need to mingle around our wagon in the rain. Woodcutting proceeds apace, and, having discovered stone layers two lengths of a dwarf below the surface, they promise to soon have workshops and designated stockpiles for our items. I may be able to begin work on beds within two weeks, if all goes well, and Chief Stoneworker Etur Basementweavers will be able to work on coffers for the storage of our owned items in the same timespan. The layer of clay directly below the layer of black sand will serve well as a secondary farm for when the eventual population of our fortress becomes too large for the nine plots currently held to sustain us.

[jonanlsh]

Good luck with that sane and rational thing.

If you're dwarfing people, I'd like to be dwarfed.

[Doctor_Whiteface]

Good luck with that sane and rational thing.

If you're dwarfing people, I'd like to be dwarfed.

I'm actually pretty good with the "sane and rational" part, I've only ever lost one fortress to anything other than boredom, and that's because of a mistake I made in building design.

I don't normally dorf the starting seven, but I'll be sure to nick one of the first migrant wave after you.

Next log post coming soon.

[Doctor_Whiteface]

Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 21st day of the month of Granite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Fourth
Excavation of the room which will be for our storage has completed, and we are now in the process all of moving our items from off of our cart and into the storage area. Wood is to be excluded by reason of being not included in the designations. Chief Miner Bembul Boltedfolded and Miner Iton Sizzlecastle are hard at work excavating our future-designated workshop areas, and will begin on dormitories once we have completed our workshop area. Once sufficient stone is quarried, construction of the first above-ground walls will begin, in order to sufficiently secure the main entrance to our undersand delvings.



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 28th day of the month of Granite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Fifth
Excavation of the future-designated workshop areas is complete, along with the quantum stone stockpile, and dumping to the Stockpile has begun as well. Seven of nine farm plots have been fully surveyed and cleared, and planting of Plump Helmets has as well been initiated. Chief Woodcutter Goden Immortalitycrafted with the long name will soon be designated Farmer Goden Immortalitycrafted, and Chief Fisherdwarf Astesh Strokebells with the misspelled name in the embarkation registry will as well soon be designated Farmer Astesh Strokebells as there are few fish to catch in the swamps or lake and she therefore is more well-employed as a Farmer than as a Fisherdwarf.



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 7th day of the month of Slate, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Sixth
Excavation of the future-designated first dormitory level proceeds apace, and excavation of a wood storage area behind the now-complete carpenter's workshop has begun. We soon will no longer need to wake with sand in unspeakable places. A deepening of the central shaft will be initiated soon, with the specific aim of finding some valuable smeltable ore. Coal, as well, will be searched for. Designation and clearing of the farms has completed, and once all necessaries are made (it may be hoped that this point will be reached by the middle of the summer, or at the very latest by the end of the first year) excavation will begin on a level designated for the industry of glass-creation. Bags and similar will need to be acquired for this purpose, as well, for which purpose three plots of land have been designated to grow Pig Tail plants for two seasons of four and a Loom will be made for the creation of bags when the Glass Level is made. Ideally, magma will be found and thus transported in a safe bucket made of proper mushroom, therefore removing the need for excessive fuel use.

[Xantalos]

PTW for the inevitable abandoning of the sane and rational bit.

[Doctor_Whiteface]

Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 14th day of the month of Slate, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Seventh
Excavation of the future-designated wood storage area proceeds apace, and excavation of a kitchen-and-dining area and a food storage area will begin once the future-designated wood storage area is fully excavated. A table and chair and a door have been all ordered for production for an office for the position of Bookkeeper and Manager, and should be completed once Chief Stoneworker Etur Basementweavers wakes from his nap on the floor of the wood stockpile.



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 21st day of the month of Slate, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Eighth
Excavation of the almost-designated wood storage area is complete, and clearing the stone from the area is all that remains. Excavation of the kitchen-and-dining area has begun, and the materials for the creation of the office for the Bookkeeper and Manager have been made and placed. Manager Astesh Strokebells formerly Chief Fisherdwarf Astesh Strokebells has locked herself in her new office and refuses to leave. The sounds of writing come from within, presumably she is updating records to reflect the state of stocks. I will begin making beds soon.



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 28th day of the month of Slate, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Ninth
Excavation of the kitchen-and-dining area has actually begun now, following a false report the previous week of labor taking place. I have begun making beds, and the first plump helmets are coming in. More will be planted. Manager Astesh Strokebells is still locked in her office, and wood hauling from the surface proceeds apace. Soon we will have a functional outpost from which to begin construction of the aboveground portions of Machinespires. Much mining shall be had. In unrelated news, a Tick Woman has been spotted on the surface. She sits and watches from a distance, and has done little since catching our attention. I wonder at her presence.

[Doctor_Whiteface]

Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 7th day of the month of Felsite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Tenth
Excavation continues on the kitchen-and-dining area. Gems have been located, and will be collected for cutting. The beds have been made, and will be placed soon to give us all individual rooms to sleep in. Construction of rock coffers for the storage of items within our rooms and of doors for the privacy of doing unspeakable things is likewise underway, and will conclude in good time. Manager Astesh Strokebells is still locked in her office.



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 14th day of the month of Felsite, 1st year of our outpost
he Tick Woman has wandered away and a family of carp have taken up residence near the eastern shore of the lake. Manager Astesh Strokebells is still locked in her office. Beds have been placed and assigned, and sleeping has become the more comfortable for this fact. Construction designations for a floor above and for walls above to form the basis of our first aboveground structure will begin within a day. Little else to report this week, events proceed apace.



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 21st day of the month of Felsite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Twelfth
Manager Astesh Strokebells left her office briefly this week and assisted with hauling labors before returning and locking the door again. The business of clearing away the rocks from the wood storage area behind my designated work station has finished, and I at last have time to sit down and be not-overworked. A giant louse has been spotted to the north, and glad I am that it is staying thus far well away from us.

[Doctor_Whiteface]

Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 28th day of the month of Felsite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Thirteenth
Designation of initial walls has been completed and soon construction will be at a good pace. A portion of one of the marsh-pools will need to be paved over, but this is a little thing. A trade depot soon may be constructed at the surface, as we have space at somewhat of a premium below the surface. Care will need to be taken that the aboveground portions of Machinespires do not, in time, block access to this trade depot. I cannot help but be in a state of speculation as to whether the caravan will attempt to arrive, as is possible, from the lakeside. It would be more efficient to come by land, but perhaps wagons might be made to float and thereby to avoid the dangers of land-travel?

Of course not, carp are not worth the risk.



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 7th day of the month of Hematite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Fourteenth
Summer has arrived, and much business with it, though with the warm climate in this area it is difficult to tell the switch in seasons. Water does not exist as stone here, as it does in the deep south, nor is it even of a changeable nature as in the northernmost of the Mountainhomes. Instead it is of a full liquid nature, as of the oceans, and does not harden even at the coldest of climes. I will be sending a most favorable report back with the first caravan of this land. "Machinespires is idyllic, come if you wish."

But I sing the praises of this land time and a half overlong. Construction of the walls proceeds apace, two hands are almost completed and the arms will be made in time. I believe a road might be in the offing for caravans, so they might be led towards us, though I think it obvious that such considerations are secondary to ensuring there is a depot for them to arrive in. After the walls, it shall be made. Digging of the future glass-industry-and-similar-considerations level has begun, with a more organized nature than the slapdash that was used when making the initial workshop-levels. Food will be transported to the new storage-area in time, though clearing of stone from that area and others must be accomplished first. We have enough drink and food to last us some time, but a brewery would be well-created and soon. Plump Helmets are good to eat, but squeezing their raw juices makes for poor drink and I have no wish to lap the dew from my facial growth.

I am in a prattling mood today, perhaps the weather affects my enthusiasm for this work?



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 14th day of the month of Hematite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Fifteenth
Such hard labor surely deserves a short period of rest, at the very least. Excavation, farming, construction, transportation of boulders for later use, all of this tires the Dwarven constitution. Both of our miners are currently at a well-deserved rest, and the rest of us are hard at work keeping the various projects currently underway still underway. Manager Astesh Strokebells has locked herself in her office to update the records. Again.

[Doctor_Whiteface]

For my own convenience, mostly because I intend to bring the "spires" part of "Machinespires" to full realization and I want to keep the proportions somewhere close to square for most of them, I'll be switching to the Phoebus graphics set from this point forward.

[Doctor_Whiteface]

Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 21st day of Hematite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Sixteenth
I wonder at the process in the Dwarven mind that makes it seem a good idea to stand where one is trying to build a wall. It is a passing strange notion. Excavation, meanwhile, nears completion, and Head Mason Etur Basementweavers is almost finished with the chairs and tables that will form our dining hall, small though it will initially be.

(The reason for this one-entry post is because I'm heading off to work and I'll be unavailable to post more until this afternoon, so I figured I'd get it out of the way now so it's not sitting on my computer here at home.)

[Doctor_Whiteface]

Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 28th day of Hematite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Seventeenth
Having seen the level of labors necessary to complete such construction as is currently underway, we have decided to all aid in the construction of our outer walls. In time, this initial outpost will surely be seen as a quaint and primitive core to the towering glory of Machinespires. For now, though, it is our best (eventual) defense against ground-based foes. Also, we have decided to make our depot in a specially-designated area to one side of the main courtyard. It will be more efficient, we hope, and provide a discreet way to wall off any unpleasant annoyances of a pointy-eared nature.



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 7th day of Malachite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Eighteenth
A group of six migrants, two children included, arrived yesterday. The children are as shiftless as all younglings, though the remaining four are divided evenly between Farmer and Peasant for profession. They will all be useful general help about the fortress, and will sleep on the floor until construction is finished. I feel for them, but completing a defensible perimeter is the present primary goal, followed by comfortable accommodations to our newest comrades.

[Doctor_Whiteface]

Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 14th day of Malachite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Nineteenth
Construction of the currently-buildable walls is complete, more Dolomite will need to be mined to complete the last few pieces. Thankfully the excavation of the new rooms for the first-wave arrivals from the Mountainhome in the deep south will provide the necessary materials to complete the walls and begin the paving of the floor. Beds, doors, and coffers have already been ordered, and smoothing of the walls will begin once excavation and placement of furniture is complete.



Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 21st day of Malachite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Twentieth
Construction of the depot for trading has begun, and excavation of the new dormitories and removal of stone from the area is likewise complete. I have made the requisite beds and coffers and most of the doors for privacy for the doing of unspeakable things have been made. There is very little else to report, other than that we intend to expand the future-glass-industry level to multiple more rooms, both to better facilitate the making of glass and to provide a good source of Dolomite, as the Dolorite on the dormitories level is, while similarly-named, not of equivalent use.



Journal of Cerol Landsabbres
The 28th day of Malachite, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Twenty-First
The Depot for trading is completed, and the beds will soon be assigned. On a related topic, our drink stores grow low and a well would be well-received, meaning no pun by the statement. I shall speak to Chief Mason Etur Basementweavers on this problem. Smoothing of the stone in the dormitories area to make for less sharp points on our feet has been designated, and the smoothing will soon begin.

[Doctor_Whiteface]

Journal of Cerol Landsabres
The 7th day of Galena, 1st year of our outpost
Entry the Twenty-Second
A group of Mantis People interrupted the further construction of outside walls and paving earlier this week, though they quickly moved away rather than attempt to interact with the sounds of Dwarfen industry. Soon we will begin delving deeper to search for the first cavern layer and thus find proper mushrooms. I will be moving soon to monthly entries in this journal, as the multiple projects taking place at once consume too much attention on all fronts to further justify weekly entries.

(I will be making a post for the rest of Galena once I finish it, this is the last weekly entry)

[Doctor_Whiteface]

Journal of Cerol Landsabres
Limestone, 1st year of our outpost
Construction on the bridge finished late this month, and the excavation of the future-designated industry level is very nearly completed. A quarry area for Dolomite will be designated in the near future, followed by a delving to discover the elevation of the first cavern layer. A staircase is planned in the corner of the depot-area, to lead to the future-designated roof and second floor of the future-designated First Tower. It is hoped that magma might be located in due time in order to harvest obsidian for use as a cheap construction material. Far-future plans include mushroom and tree farms to provide a renewable source of building materials once excavatable layers of stone are completely exhausted.

[Doctor_Whiteface]

Journal of Cerol Landsabres
Sandstone, 1st year of our outpost
Three immigrants arrived early in this month, one farmer, one cook, and one leatherworker. The cook will find we have little use for prepared food in this pleasant clime. The first two cavern layers were discovered on the same day of the previous journal entry's writing, and much work has gone into clearing away the ramps to the higher levels of ground in the last month. Thankfully there appear to be no lower levels accessible by ramp, and so animals (other than those which fly, which will have to be dealt with on an individual basis) should be unable to enter Machinespires from below. In similar news, the abundance of slate in the caverns has prompted a change of construction policy, namely that slate should be used until such time as the magma below is reached and thereby opens obsidian production.