From the journal of joeclark, Militia Commander of Desertguard:
Under attack by a ferocious werebear, the peasant dwarfs of Desertguard suddenly called for leadership from the one dwarf they knew they could count on in a crisis: their militia commander. As my first order of business I rallied to the battle, but arrived too late to catch the beast. It knocked around a woodcrafter for a while and then transformed and left the map.
2 Granite:Now officially overseer, I set some goals for the coming year:
- expand military
- expand agriculture
- furnish bedrooms
- dig deeper, seek riches
- beef up defenses
19th granite: I thought matahcheese was sick. So what's he doing organizing a party at chert Table? In other news, the miners have located a cavern that appears to be almost all water (at least from where we can see). One giant plot of plump helmets has been removed and is being replaced by several normal-sized plots so we can start getting some diversity in our booze. HARD has been drafted into the army and given a sword. Most male dwarves without useful skills have been drafted as "troopers" and authorized to chop trees and gather plants as well as help with hauling jobs. We're currently stripping the desert of its plant life in hopes of acquiring a selection of seeds, hopefully including rope reeds. The trees will be next. Many of our useless animals are being slaughtered for meat.
26th granite: That woodcrafter turned into a werebear!!! Oops, should have kept a closer eye on him...
The Chopper arrived first, and the werebear gave him a good what-for, gripping his teeth and toes and bruising the muscles. None of the bites appeared to break the skin, but The Chopper may have had some bones broken. He will be watched for honey cravings and such. The new recruit, HARD, arrived about the same time and slashed and hacked the werebear almost to pieces. I arrived late and landed the killing blow. With its final thrash, however, the werebear turned and bit HARD's head, tearing the brain and killing him. (We didn't get his armor forged yet.) He died a hero's death and a HARD2 has been dorfed to fill his shoes.
Update: The Chopper's left elbow and right wrist are "torn apart". Here's hoping he returns to duty but not as a werebear.
16 slate:I noticed the Chopper heading back to combat training. And my goodness, thirty new migrants just arrived.
21 slate: The miners have breached another, very deep, cavern. They report sightings of adamantine (!!!) yet could not pinpoint its location for me on my map. Someone shall have to explore that cavern to find it.
14 felsite: Elves arrived with lots of wood and cloth - great stuff. No rope reed seeds, though, so I ordered the militia to slaughter the merchants. They went down fast, though one of their pack-yaks hung on for a long time. They brought a tame black bear. There is a giant jaguar roaming outside somewhere. How I wish we had ammunition and could employ a hunter! Or at least some kind of cage trap setup.
malachite: The previous overseer recommended improving the workshop area. Since it was dug into a dirt level, I decided to remove it altogether and replace it with a tree farm area. New workshops are being constructed in a diorite layer with gold veins... proper dwarfen work spaces. We now have a mayor, I just noticed, who forbids us to export hatch covers. Well there goes my brilliant economic plan!
17th galena: It must be summer, because the humans are here. I've completed my modifications to the entrance: a long corridor for caravans and a short trapped corridor for invaders. Unfortunately a boulder in the entryway prevents the humans from bringing their wagons around... that'll be dealt with ASAP.
The caravan didn't have much of note. I bought food and booze.
24th limestone: My grand bedroom (actually the whole suite) was finished today with the installation of silver and gold furniture, copper doors, and a gold statue of a dwarf.
Just as I was on my way to admire my grand tomb, I heard that my butcher (apparently a skilled carpenter, as if I had need for another one) had withdrawn from society...
6th sandstone: An artifact bin worth 24000! Now legendary, Erith R has been re-assigned to carpentry. You know, I think my bedroom needs a masterwork bed...
Update: I got a masterwork bed with masterwork jewel encrustation!
Update: Also on the topic of beds, most of the bedrooms have beds now, but our numbers are swelling so fast I've decided to carve out a nice dormitory to handle the overflow so that new migrants don't have to sleep in the dirt.
21st sandstone: Ten new migrants have arrived. Time to take a break and consider how best to finish my year.