Chapter VI: Addition & Subtraction22nd Slate, 1052
At long last; just as our food supplies and our wills were diminishing, some migrants were spotted coming towards our outpost.
As I welcomed them into the fortress, I listed each one and their profession:
1 Farmer
2 Carpenters
1 Miner
1 Mason
1 Trapper
4 Peasants
I also decided that, while fairly unnecessary in the past, I should formally introduce myself to the arriving group.
I have informed each one that they would likely not be doing their ordinary job for a while, but that they would have a chance to make a name for themselves once the fort reaches its height.
6th Felsite, 1052
I’ve put the peasants at work preparing the turtles that we’ve caught for eating. One of them, a young man by the name of Splint, sought me out personally.
He told me that, ever since he was a child, he desired to be a mighty swordsdwarf. He wished to enlist in our fortress militia. When I told him that we had no official army, he was appalled, and demanded that he be allowed to lead it. We agreed that a small space would be dug out for a barracks and that he could train with the obsidian sword I had, for practice, made last year. The dwarf shows enthusiasm; perhaps he will indeed, one day, become a great warrior.
19th Felsite, 1052
When I went outside today, I found that the river was, unusually enough, flowing with blood.
It was common knowledge that there was an alligator that kept to itself in the lower sections of the river, and I feared that it had begun to attack us. What I found, however, was that the alligator was actually killed in a hunt by the trapper. I congratulated her, and asked for her name, to which she replied: “Mastahcheese.”
Alas! not all of my news of today is happy, though. As I was beginning to fear, due to our almost double-sized population, the foodstuffs have begun to be insufficient in feeding our dwarves. Tun Äkilathel, one of our original farmers, was found, starved to death, hunting for vermin. She was a brave soul, willing to risk her life in the creation of a new fortress. She will be interred in a stone coffin; this incident reveals to me the desperate necessity of seeds.
1st Hematite, 1052
By Armok! Peregarrett has fallen victim to the great pangs of hunger as well. One of our farmers has begun to panic, and is throwing a sort of temper tantrum. I begin to wonder if these migrants have been a blessing or a curse.
7th Hematite, 1052
The rampaging farmer has proven to be quite a nuisance. He has destroyed the door to the mead-hall and has wounded another dwarf. If he doesn’t quit it soon, I may be forced to exercise capital punishment.
14th Hematite, 1052
Both of the deceased have been interred in jet coffins today and, likewise, we held the funeral. Being that there is no priest at this site, I myself was forced to undertake saying the funeral rites, but I don’t think Armok cares who does it.
17th Hematite, 1052
Perhaps we will not perish in this outpost after all. A group of human traders have come in the vicinity of the fortress, and wish to trade with us! This time, we’ll be more careful. We shall trade ourselves into favor with these humans, and we shall live from their supplies.
On another note, in an attempt to comfort our workers, a new set of coins has been minted.
26th Hematite, 1052
Today we traded with the humans, and I have, once again, renewed hope in the future of this fortress.
We now have more dwarves for dwarfing, but we have lost two dear members of society. I hope to update the front page soon, to include more information. I have an issue regarding a rotting turtle in the mead-hall that no one is removing. How can I fix this?