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[DS]

24th Moonstone, 109, Early Winter

    Her Royal Majesty
    Ùshrir Eldersalve
    Queen of the Dagger of Wards

Your majesty,

    What an honor to be the newest barony in your majesty's queendom! And now to learn from your servant Tekkud Earthenurn that we are to be elevated further in the eyes of the realm? Your majesty's approval has, I assure you, been met with great enthusiasm by the dwarves of Syrupurns.

    As you know, last Autumn Syrupurns was under heavy siege. Both goblin and undead forces arrived in the summer - much to our delight, they turned upon one another, and the goblins dealt with the zombie threat for us. We would have dealt with the invaders with great haste, had our primary defense - the deep chimney - been active. Our miners were in the deeps, however, opening up and expanding the lower two-thirds of the defensive shaft in conjunction with their continued work on the primary excavation project.



    In time, most of the goblins left, and our military expertly dealt with the stragglers, so I am told by Unib Lancerpassage, our militia commander. But I must admit to your majesty that I was not too concerned with this development. I had other matters to deal with that summer. You see... we were paid a visit by none other than the brutal and false law-giver of the Kingdom of Hushing - an icy being claiming to be the ageless Sutar Crypttomb.







The monster soared, slowly and god-like (as I'm sure was it's intent) over the forest before descending and entering the fortress gates.



    I wasted no time, and was ready to meet the fiend after giving instructions to my subjects. With cunning, I sought to meet the fiend in my dining room, rather than my normal office - in this way, I lured the demon further into my own quarters.

    Our alliance with the Kingdom of Hushing has always been strong, but from the beginning of time the humans been worshipers of the true Sutar Crypttomb, whose influence in the world is felt strongly and tangibly in the arcane powers of the necromancers. This false idol, which fooled the humans so easily into serving it, fooled not the sage dwarves of Syrupurns.





    The fiend was polite.



    It offered hollow flattery.



    But as it turned to leave, and passed into my office, I slammed the door behind it and bellowed an order to my servants -



    - and the magnetite doors were locked fast against the fiend's escape. In case the monster had the power within it to destroy the doors themselves, I ordered constructed walls to be erected against the exterior. I will have to procure a new office, but it is a small price to pay.

    And thus, the dwarves of Syrupurns have imprisoned a god. Or so the humans of the Kingdom of Hushing have assumed, I am sure.

    Under normal circumstances, I would offer the demon up to your majesty's wise judgement - but I am afraid that not all demons are as steel-nerved as that fiend that has lain silent and solitary in its prison these five years. A month or two after the walls were erected, horrifying screams were heard faintly through the mortar, echoing out from the walled-up office.



I am sure that the demon posing as Sutar Crypttomb is now quite mad.

    The humans returned this year, sending another diplomat in the place of their false idol, showing no signs of violence. I am sure they are completely unaware that their deity has been walled up in my office, not a dozen feet from where I met their new law-giver.



    Unfortunately, not all is well in Syrupurns. There is, among us, another who has been cursed by Vetek the Crab of Bulwarks.





    So far, there have been six murders - six dwarves have been found in their beds, drained of blood. After the first, I set military squads to patrol the bedrooms, but so far the fiend has not been caught. The only witness for any of the murders has been Ducim Cavesavior, a bowyer of great skill. She is quite friendly, but I must admit I have suspicions. Ducim implicated Cog Kingcrypts, the captain of our macedwarves, and upon her testimony punishment was administered. Cog lives - our hammerer's strikes were deflected by Cog's iron and steel armor - and the murders have continued. Without further witnesses, I am afraid the captain of our guard, good Lorbam Flankedtrades, refuses to pursue any action.

    If there might be any physical traits that could be used to identify the other two dwarves who have been cursed - either Goden Handlepool or Sarvesh Veilmountain - please let me know. If we do identify the bloodsucker (no offense meant, your majesty), they will be brought to your majesty's swift and harsh justice.

    It would be wise to speak the praises of earth,
      Reg Labormurder
      Grand Architect
      Baroness of Syrupurns

[DS]

14th Moonstone, 110, Early Winter

    Her Royal Majesty
    Ùshrir Eldersalve
    Queen of the Dagger of Wards

Your majesty,

    First and foremost, let me offer an update on the progress of your grand project.



    As I write this, our miners are clearing out the lowest levels of the primary stage of excavation. After the roof has been completely hewn, a new set of structures will be carved from the rock - these will be the first permanent areas of Syrupurns, and in time will form the uppermost reaches of your majesty's grand capital fortress.

    I expect this phase of the project to be functionally complete by next year. Is it providence, that this Granite we will be celebrating our tenth year here in Syrupurns? I can hardly believe it has been so long - why, only ten years before we came to the Jungle of Suns, I was sketching plans for caverns in Workgold! From modest architect to countess in twenty years - such an ascent I dared never to hope for.

    Unfortunately, not all is well in Syrupurns. Our vampire remains hidden, and a few more have died. I can only hope that the fiend is caught before too much damage is done - before the foul creature claims a dwarf of some value. I cannot ensure that, if evidence is brought to light, that I will not take matters into my own hands and enact my own justice. Your majesty's judgement is harsh and true, but until you arrive to take command, I am the overseer of Syrupurns - I trust you understand my feelings.

    As well, you must accept my apologies, for the demon posing as Sutar Crypttombs now exists as nothing more than a pool of water in the recesses of your majesty's finest fortress.



    I was in the dining hall, when I heard the insane scream of the berserk deity echoing through the tunnels. The fiend had escaped - although how, none can say. The walls sealing my former office doors in place had not budged, and there was absolutely no other exit. What sorcery can allow a huge creature as this to pass unhindered through walls?





    Fortunately, our barracks lies just on the other side of the finished goods stockpile, into which the creature posing as Sutar Crypttomb had escaped. A lone swordsdwarf engaged the fiend...



    ...but it was one of our rangers who did in the beast. Reports from eyewitnesses say that the crossbow bolt struck the demon squarely in the chest, at which point the creature's snowy form completely dissolved.



    All that were left were a few handfuls of snow, that melted as the seasons changed.



    Now, only a puddle remains.

    As a replacement for the loss of this curiosity, please accept my humbles apologies, and three more:







    Each of these beasts has been captured in separate corridors in the deeps, awaiting some useful or entertaining purpose. I leave this up to you.

    addendum (19th Moonstone)
    The humans must have deduced that we were responsible for the death of their law-giver. I don't know how. But they sent a single squad of axemen to test our strength. Since the caravan had just arrived, I ordered our military to be stationed in the trade depot, to protect the wagons as they left the fortress and ensure that our goods reached the mountainhome.



    Imagine my fury, good queen, when I learned that two marksdwarves alone had engaged the humans! One was slain instantly, but the story of the other - one Erush Boatswipe, a cripple who managed to somehow hold her crutch, crossbow, and infant daughter all at once - was so unbelievable I had to hear it from the captain of the guard himself.

    Erush stood alone, firing bolt after bolt at the advancing squad of axemen, but due to her rusty skill (I have been finding it difficult lately to motivate our marksdwarves to train), none of her shots succeeded in doing any damage. The humans engaged her in melee, and by their conduct, I think it is safe to say that these humans (followers of the foul Sutar Crypttomb, naturally) are utter monsters. According to Erush, one of the axemen actually bit her child and thrashed it about until she bled out.



I have no sympathy for these monsters, and will refuse any peace offering they bring henceforth.

    With her child slain, and out of ammo, Erush dodged and blocked attack after attack, until one axeman managed to lop off her right foot. Not that it made a huge difference - Erush had long walked with a crutch, to the point that she had reached legendary skill with the tool. However, she made the prudent decision to retreat, while the rest of the military was ordered to take out the axemen - several of which Erush had sickened, injured, or otherwise weakened so that they appeared as not so great a threat.

    For three full days the battle raged on the surface, as our military rushed to Erush's aid. When they arrived at the site of the battle, they found most of the axemen in their weakened state, and dealt with them accordingly. Erush, however, had fought her way to the other side of the fortress entirely - when the rest of the military arrived, they found her standing over an unconscious, prone axeman, the last of the invaders, repeatedly and ineffectually beating her bronze crossbow against the human's helm. Our captain of the guard finished off the human with a single lash of his silver whip.

    Sadly, captain Lorbam reports that, immediately after the combat had ended, Erush asked where her infant had gotten to. When none of the other warriors could bring themselves to remind the marksdwarf of her daughter's fate, Erush sought her out, returning to the site of the first combat.



Afterwards, Erush returned to her duties, turning her attention away from the mutilated corpse of her daughter, towards gathering some of the equipment that now lay scattered about the field.



All observation indicates that she is doing quite well, emotionally. Let this dwarf, Erush Boatswipe, be a model to your majesty, an indication of the ceaseless horror that has besieged Syrupurns from all sides, yet has failed to do anything besides harden the will and determination of your servants.

    Sit back and reflect, your majesty, upon the numerous dwarves who, in order to ensure that so many of their kin can continue to work and serve your majesty to their fullest potential, have given their lives - reflect, too, upon all those that will come to do so, in the centuries to come.

    Seek Doren,
      Reg Labormurder
      Grand Architect
      Countess of Syrupurns

[Gnorm]

[...]Imagine my furty, good quee[...]

Just thought I'd point out this typo in what is otherwise an almost flawlessly written story.

[DS]

[...]Imagine my furty, good quee[...]

Just thought I'd point out this typo in what is otherwise an almost flawlessly written story.

Hah! Corrected. Thanks for pointing it out.

Now I'm the one imagining what a furty is... 

[DS]

Rather dejectedly, I am forced to call an end to this project.

Inexplicably, the primary save file for Syrupurns has become corrupted, and cannot be loaded without crashing the game. In a tremendous show of poor foresight, I have no recent backup to revert to. With great disappointment, I confess that I currently lack a great degree of motivation to rewrite the story from its earliest roots.

I had planned these letters to be a sort of foundation for a much longer epic, which I had hoped would exist as a continuous narration of a long-term fortress for all to see. Alas, not this time.

It may be that I will retry this project in the future, but I must frankly say that this turn of events has - at least momentarily - stymied any motivation to do so.

 - DS

[Russell.s]

Rather dejectedly, I am forced to call an end to this project.

Inexplicably, the primary save file for Syrupurns has become corrupted, and cannot be loaded without crashing the game. In a tremendous show of poor foresight, I have no recent backup to revert to. With great disappointment, I confess that I currently lack a great degree of motivation to rewrite the story from its earliest roots.

I had planned these letters to be a sort of foundation for a much longer epic, which I had hoped would exist as a continuous narration of a long-term fortress for all to see. Alas, not this time.

It may be that I will retry this project in the future, but I must frankly say that this turn of events has - at least momentarily - stymied any motivation to do so.

 - DS

I'm sorry to hear that DS! I was thoroughly enjoying reading your updates, although I can understand entirely how demotivating something like that can be. If DF ever crashes after a few hours of unsaved play it usually puts me off playing for a few days- having the whole save corrupted must be much worse.
Good luck with future projects though!

[DS]

Thanks Russel.s. I enjoy writing these updates, but I guess I needed to learn a hard lesson in keeping auxiliary backup saves.

I do have a new project in mind. At the risk of sounding dramatic, late last night a new fortress design came unbidden to me as I lay about in a soporific haze. It will require lots planning, and I'm not sure about any intrinsic story-telling value - although, I suppose a naturally emerging storyline will probably prove more interesting than any I could devise myself.

I'll save any large-scale megaprojects for the new version - I have visions of broad grottos, filled with wild tower-cap and fungiwood forests. There are many features in the upcoming version that I am quite eager about.

[Captain Matt]

Rather dejectedly, I am forced to call an end to this project.

Inexplicably, the primary save file for Syrupurns has become corrupted, and cannot be loaded without crashing the game. In a tremendous show of poor foresight, I have no recent backup to revert to. With great disappointment, I confess that I currently lack a great degree of motivation to rewrite the story from its earliest roots.

I had planned these letters to be a sort of foundation for a much longer epic, which I had hoped would exist as a continuous narration of a long-term fortress for all to see. Alas, not this time.

It may be that I will retry this project in the future, but I must frankly say that this turn of events has - at least momentarily - stymied any motivation to do so.

 - DS

Damn, that's harsh. It really is a shame, I'd really enjoyed reading Weatherwires a year ago and when I saw you had started a new project I just had to look. Is this the same project you had referred to when Weatherwires was dying down, or did you have another big idea in the intervening time? It looks pretty interesting - were you going to carve rooms out of the rock surrounding the hexagon? Making a vast borehole and making every room have windows to it, allowing them to gaze into the abyss below is an idea I've thought about a lot, but I've never been able to plan for it.

The, uh... fun situation with the queen was also interesting - and so was the subtlety. I was looking down the first page, and it was genuinely shocking to see the description of the engraving on "The Luck of Passing". Literally, something in my head went "oh shit". I don't suppose you could give some of her history, maybe her, uh, 'taxation' numbers? Was she the queen from the start, or did she do one of those "kill the ruler and steal his power" things?

Anyway, thanks again for writing this, even if it did get cut tragically short. You really do have a talent for atmosphere.

[DS]

Is this the same project you had referred to when Weatherwires was dying down, or did you have another big idea in the intervening time? It looks pretty interesting - were you going to carve rooms out of the rock surrounding the hexagon? Making a vast borehole and making every room have windows to it, allowing them to gaze into the abyss below is an idea I've thought about a lot, but I've never been able to plan for it.

Sort of. After Weatherwires, I knew I wanted to do another project that was narrated from the very beginning, that utilized the new elements of the game that had just been introduced. At the time, those were vampires and minecarts - I only really got around to including one of those, but minecarts were planned to figure pretty heavily later in the story, used as defense, efficient transfer of goods, and dwarven transportation. The idea I had in mind back then was, structurally and conceptually, the same as this one, although I obviously didn't know the details about the characters themselves - the game provided these.

The borehole itself would have been filled with a carefully designed and carved city of organic design, avoiding recognizable geometric shapes except for hexagons, based primarily off of the layout of the caverns themselves, as in Weatherwires. The upper levels of the city would have been hanging from the floor of the upper caverns, while the lower levels were supported in the middle and lower caverns. I had even used DFHack and a few exploratory expeditions in an alternate save to ensure that a certain peculiar structure was included below Syrupurns, just so things would be a little extra fun later on.

The, uh... fun situation with the queen was also interesting - and so was the subtlety. I was looking down the first page, and it was genuinely shocking to see the description of the engraving on "The Luck of Passing". Literally, something in my head went "oh shit". I don't suppose you could give some of her history, maybe her, uh, 'taxation' numbers? Was she the queen from the start, or did she do one of those "kill the ruler and steal his power" things?

Queen from the start. Her kill count was modest, seeing how only 100 years had passed since the dawn of time.

Anyway, thanks again for writing this, even if it did get cut tragically short. You really do have a talent for atmosphere.

You're welcome, and thank you. I expect to revisit this project once a relatively stable version of the next release is available, whenever that is. In the meantime, I've got other things that I'm working towards.

[reality.auditor]

Shame that it had to end basically even before it really started. Did you report this bug in tracker?

And yes, regular backups (seasonal autosave plus physically copying by hand say once a year) are must, especially when one expects bugs during tale.

[DS]

Shame that it had to end basically even before it really started. Did you report this bug in tracker?

And yes, regular backups (seasonal autosave plus physically copying by hand say once a year) are must, especially when one expects bugs during tale.

I haven't reported it, no. This error - and another like it a few months ago - happened immediately after manually copying a save (not using autosave).

And yeah, of course. Usually I always have seasonal autosave on, but I overlooked it in this case. My current project, which is just about ready to have it's own thread now, is thoroughly backed up.