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Yet more Cave Ogres

Giant Cave Swallow

Magma Crab

Forgotten Beast

Giant Cave Spider

[PsychoAngel]

Dorf me for this! I will be the grandmaster of glass AND animals. It'll be like bringing a War Giant Leopard into a kiln! Down with pottery!

[Immortal-D]

20 Galena
Good news: We have verified that rare & exotic animals do roam these lands.  Bad news: The only Dwarf who can identify them is Master Chef Pencil_Art, because all that remains atop the skeleton are a few scraps of skin & flesh.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I briefly consider sending our Marksdwarves to deal with the menace, but remembering they have only a handful of metal bolts between them and no muscle for backup, I decide we're better of closing the drawbridge.  With construction of the surface bunker well in hand, I decide the time has come for us to have a proper feasting hall, like the Dwarves of legend.  Plans are quickly drawn out, and a number of peasants are informed they are being drafted for smoothing & engraving detail.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

11 Limestone
Good news: Securing the first Cavern layer will be a relatively simple application of walls & doors at the breach.  Bad News: This is due to the fact that the first Cavern is so deep, I can't even see the bottom.  More bad news: This also means that mining the Cavern will be perilous at best, requiring winding walkways across the chasm.

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Peering over the edge, one of the apprentice farmers gets a glean in his eye, and points me toward a particular spire several layers down.

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Oh fantastic, yet more Tin.  The stuff we can reach without building a catwalk of death already fills an entire room.
"No No" he gestures, "Look past it."

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Well darned if he isn't right.  Emeralds the size of boulders and a vein of precious copper within arms reach!  I smile and give him a firm slap on the shoulder.  Good eye mate.  We'll dig a few exploratory mineshafts around the sides.  Hopefully this system doesn't extend across the entire region.  If we're lucky, we'll find proper veins on solid ground.  At least that cluster is only a few Urists out, a simple bridge will make the crossing safe.  Seems you have a good eye for the shiny stuff.  What's your name?

Dorf me for this!

Yeah, I saw you tilling the plump helmets and tending to our pigs.
"In my off time, I've been apprenticing under Feb Solodoz.  Jewels and glass are just so pure, feels right."
I smile and head back to the Fortress.  That Dwarf may just be our next industry master, churning out the gem-encrusted crystal glass that this generation has only ever read about.

18 Limestone
Good news: PsychoAngel has been promoted to the head of our burgeoning glass industry.  Bad news: Solodoz ran screaming to a Jeweler's shop, started tossing out pictures of both pig tails and fluffy cloth.  Our llamas were shredded by the zombie ravens in the first season, there wasn't a scrap of wool to be found.  We knew all too well that an inspired Dwarf offers great promise, but also great danger.  It is with a heavy heart that we bid our preemptive farewells.

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15 Timber
The yearly Dwarven caravan has begun unloading.  While inspecting their wares, I receive a distressing message.  Bad news: The cavern contains a portion of the unnatural positive energy which permeates our side of the beach.  Fungus has been growing across the entire grotto.  One lass even reported a feather tree sapling had sprouted in the pig pen!

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Good news: The lesser zombie animals are comparative weaklings, managing no more harm than some bruised muscles.  The remains of a rattlesnake snuck past as we were finishing the last corner of the bunker, but we dog-piled the wretched thing and quickly put it back in the ground.

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Although I am relieved that this minor incursion proved no threat, inwardly I grimace.  Our claystone palisade will keep out the wildlife, both living and other.  We can rush to the burrows easily enough in the event of another raven attack.  Should the greenskins make themselves known however, we are all but defenseless.  I make a note to bring up some granite blocks.  We'll want dense stone for the bridge I intend to cover our new surface access stairs.  On the plus side, the first layer of our grand feasting hall has been excavated and mostly smoothed.  Soon we can move all of our kitchens & stills adjacent, and it will be just a few levels below the dormitory.  The balconies are going to need solid metal railings though.  Hmmm.. maybe we'll finally have use for the mountains of Tin we've been accumulating.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The year is drawing to a close, and we might actually have some glass produced in-house! (I previously bought a few pieces from the last Caravan, in case of Mood).  Soon as the resident Jeweler wanted wool, I knew I couldn't save her   PsychoAngel's Dwarf actually was the next-best choice, with base skills of Glassmaking & Craftsdwarf ~58%.  Perhaps best of all, we're making steady progress towards completing a couple objectives; a 4-z dining hall, and a sandstone/wood/glass based surface structure.  The first of which will likely be a roofed and wood-walled pen for our grazers.  No dwarf should ever go insane from lack of wool.  Stay tuned!

[Immortal-D]

3 Moonstone
Reading the latest battle report was... difficult.  Ultimately we triumphed over the resilient weasel, but I must wonder for how long we can withstand such evil with little more than sheer Dwarven willpower.

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Pencil_Art commands great respect here, as one of the founding Dwarves.  When he says that an occasion is worthy of celebration, every Dwarf in the fortress is inclined to believe him.

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13 Opal
Life here as been relatively quiet.  Every Dwarf is in good spirits as we slowly begin the arduous but wholly necessary task of moving all fortress operations fully underground.  Under the tutelage of our head Miner & Medical Dwarf SaberToothTiger, I have become quite the expert with a pick myself.

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Our humble fortress has grown so large that Tradition dictates a Mayor be elected.  A true Dwarf of the people, he is also a far more skilled Broker, and I thankfully relinquish the position, whilst maintaining my role of Bookkeeper Tradition Scholar.  This also means I get a room deserving of nobility!  I never really stopped to admire our collection of gold figurines, but something about this one being mine... it just feels right.

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16 Slate
Predictably, we are visited by a flock of undead just prior to the arrival of the Elven caravan.

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We lost all of our grazers again, but the murderous birds were not done yet.  They sought out a Unicorn which had strayed from its' herd.  The battle was fierce, and ended when the Unicorn was pushed back against the shoreline... right into a rolling cloud of Fiendish Mist!  As the Unicorn came to grips with its' new unlife, a troubling thought occurred to me.  According to Traditional ancient texts, when a piece of the Earth is infused with unnatural energy, the energy is not limited to the surface.  Rather, it permeates the whole of the land, stopping only upon reaching the fabled Magma Sea.  Everything caught between is subject to this power, good and bad.  Thinking back to the massive pits of the first cavern layer, I shudder to think what the evil portion of this beach has wrought upon the denizens of the deep.

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25 Slate
The Elves arrive, with literally nothing of value.  We take a handful of fruits, and trade them a symbol of us spitting upon the whole of Elven kind.

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Ending on a positive note, Psycho_Angel grows more skilled by the day, now able to churn out Fine Serrated Glass Disks with some consistency.  I hope to have several Exceptional Glass items to offer our King come the Fall.  Although I remain wary of our growing wealth, it seems that our most pressing foe will be the myriad zombies rather than the green skins.  The Arrogant Ones will of course fall in time, but their time is not this year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rather a mundane update, but I'm just not seeing much action.  Every Dwarf is so serene/stressless to the point of being comatose.  Even the protracted battle with a zombie weasel wasn't enough to dampen their spirits for more than a week.  I fully intend to see this Fortress through to whatever end, but I also don't want to continually post updates which amount to little more than "Expanding more, small zombie problem, everything is fine now"   The only thing I can think of to artificially inject some !FUN! is train Wrestlers and dig down to the second Cavern.  Well, we'll see what the coming year has in store for Aranas.

[Immortal-D]

4 Felsite
The Evil is definitely stepping up its' influence.  The gutteral, life-hating oinking... I'm going to have nightmares for a month.

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On the plus side, seems we might actually have some use for the ocean afterall.  A school of large fish was spotted off the coast, going about their business without a care in the world.

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28 Felsite
Welp, I was wrong.  Took less than a month for my nightmares to pass.... because they have been replaced by death incarnate.

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I don't understand!!  The dogs we embarked with were found scattered far West, well within the confines of The Evil, but they did not reanimate.  Thinking back, the animals had been thoroughly destroyed by the ravens; there wasn't enough solid corpse to come back.  Clearly, the schism between the Energies is uneven.  This means there are pockets of reanimation extending past the 'border', overlapping small but multiple portions of the fortress.

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Oh dear.

3 Hematite
With quick thinking comes quick action.  Every last scrap of refuse was hauled to the Northern side of the room, where the corresponding land above is undoubtedly alive and thriving, thus free of The Evil.  I have ordered the Southern portion of the refuse room to be walled off until further notice.  In the chaos, there was no way to determine exactly where discarded bones and hair had been tossed.  One of the farming peasants met his end, but at least it was quick.

25 Malachite
A young lass from the engineering team came away with her left leg paralyzed.  Thankfully just the one leg; she can still get around on a featherwood crutch.  Quick action by the medical team, under supervision of SaberToothTiger, meant she required minimal cleaning & treatment, and no soap (note to self- make soap).

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The wound was superficial, more blood than substance; except the dog skeleton bit like a precise needle, striking the motor nerve in exactly the right way.  Well, at least she remains in good spirits after her ordeal.

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Even if we had ready access to military-grade metals, I don't see how we could possibly protect ourselves from such a threat.  We're already pushed back against the Eastern cliffs as far as we can get.  Further fortress expansion will have to be strictly North & South for the time being.  Perhaps if we can ever assemble a proper military, we can determine the exact locations and sizes of The Evil which shares our border.  I sigh, adding to a growing checklist of long-term tasks.  Most immediately, we are close to reaching the next level of Dwarfiness, as dictated by Tradition.  I glance upwards, admiring the artwork of the smooth pillars which support the balconies extending high into the stone.  Our grand feasting hall is nearing completion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yikes.  Literal 'careful what you wish for' situation has been thrown on the Dwarves.  I have a few ideas about how to safely-ish determine where the zombie zones are located, but first some non-trap based defense really will be required.  Depending on how much copper I can find in the tops of the Cavern layer, I may be forced to go with leather-clad Wrestlers.  Good times

[Immortal-D]

Update!

Armok help me, I take back everything I said about not having enough !FUN!    I just received my first complaint from the Elves at the exact moment that a zombie Troglodyte somehow climbed from out of the cavern floor and into the mine shafts.  Yes the military is progressing... but this is literally my first Fortress with reanimation.  I'm kinda seriously looking forward to the challenge panicking now.  My fledgling fighters are just barely a match for zombie critters; a zombie Troglodyte would eat them alive in seconds.  If one of the Giant Birds from the caverns should fight and die within the reanimation zone, that's game.

Without magma, my options are limited.  Any creature which threatens the mine shafts must be dealt with of course.  I'll have to either find a nearby area in the mines which is free of The Evil, or create multiple dump zones along the cavern walls and just toss the corpses back down into the depths.  Either way, I expect updates will be a bit slow since I'll be checking the units screen with paranoid frequency, lol.  *steels self for intensified !FUN!*

[Immortal-D]

5 Galena
Success!!  The exploratory mine shafts we dug around the cavern walls have revealed a vast supply of riches, ours for the taking.  The initial tetrahedrite formations spotted by PsychoAngel were but a fraction of the bounty.  We have uncovered huge veins of copper, silver, and all manner of gemstones.  The forges are placed on high alert, as temporary beds and provisions are installed near the workshops.  Our Marksdwarves will never want for proper ammunition again.  As if that weren't good enough, these veins appear to run several layers down, permeating the stone all around the great cavern chasm.

I order every Dwarf and Dwarfette from the last 3 migrations be evaluated for combat prowess.  The seemingly endless supply of tin we unearthed alongside the gold excavations in the soil layers means our new defenders will have a full suit of bronze armor, copper shield, and silver mace.  My thoughts drift back to the battle of the garbage dump earlier this year.  Should any of the hostile creatures from the depths somehow find their way topside, we would have no means of precisely controlling the location of the battle.  Our foes could easily die within reach of The Evil, coming back as something far worse.  I put such thoughts aside for now.  We have much work to do, and much to celebrate.  Right on cue, Pencil_Art organizes a party, carrying out vintage Wines from the newly renovated kitchens.

9 Galena
Almost forgot.  Tradition demands that when a Fortress has established itself, the most prominent Dwarves be recorded for the ages.

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19 Limestone
The Fortress hasn't been this bustling since its' founding!  Not a single Dwarf is idle for more than a few hours.  The masons are hard at work building the foundation of our sand castle.  Down below, the smiths sweat day and night, plying the cavern's riches into weapons and armor.  In fact, we've had to double our tree slaying efforts just to keep the fires burning.  I take a break from updating the record of our last haul to admire the speed and effort with which every able-bodied Dwarf braves the surface to carry back slain trees.

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10 Timber
I almost feared the caravan wouldn't show up this year.  Upon speaking with the Liasion, I was informed the reason of their delay.  Aranas has become a symbol of hope amongst the Dwarves, a chance to rebuild and grow our dwindling civilization.  The King has deemed us worthy to become a barony!  It is with great pride that I accept the position Baron of Aranas.  Now I just have to find that clever smith who seemed to enjoy carving statues of me surrounded by spiders and hatch covers.  My first official act as Baron: I demand 3 hatch covers be crafted immediately.

15 Opal
Living on this unassuming stretch of beach has produced some unique normalcies amongst the populace.  Specifically, at least a quarter of the population has some experience in brawling thanks to the zombie critters which occasionally sneak past our walls.

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22 Obsidian
THE RAVENS ARE BACK!!  Squads form up!  This is your first true test.  Make those little bastards pay!

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One of the stone workers was outside tending the animals when the fiends struck.  He's going to need a few stitches across his head, but is otherwise ok.  I'm afraid no amount of surgery will be able save his beard though, that will have to recover naturally.

14 Granite
Like clockwork, the Elven caravan arrives shortly after an attack by zombie ravens.  This time, they actually had the stones to warn me about desecrating the trees or some such nonsense.  Clearly the Elves are concerned about our growing power, and rightly so.  They dare not strike first however, since most of their military resources are being occupied by Southern Goblin tribes.  I make a mental note restart our glass production.  Operations had ground to halt when cave moss consumed every square Urist of sand.  A floor slab should be enough to destroy the moss long enough for grates to be installed, keeping the sand exposed while preventing the moss from regrowing.  Now that our military is properly outfitted, our precious fuel reserves can be fully directed towards the glass forges.  No doubt PsychoAngel will be delighted to have her workshop operational again.

With any luck, this will be the year that King Ral receives the first shipment of glass crafts.  Such a symbolic act would elevate the Dwarves of Aranas, and might even coincide with the completion of our grand feasting hall, further securing the legacy of our Fortress.  I am cautiously optimistic about the coming year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phew! lol.  Apologies for having less media than usual this time, I was so caught up in overseeing (lulz) all of the new activity, I forgot to take pictures.  Plus I'm checking the units screen every ~15 minutes, alert for new zombies.  Humor me, this is the first time I have ever dealt with reanimation, so I am perhaps being a touch overly cautious.  Still, I am genuinely excited; this could definitely be the year that the first achievements are met, earning The Sculpted Caves its' first Dwarfiness Points.  Are you excited?  I'm excited

p.s. I figured out how the aforementioned Troglodyte made it up to the mine shafts.  It was chasing a Giant Cave Swallow   The bird fell back down when its' wing exploded, and the Trog gave chase.  So the mines are once again secure... for now.

[Pencil_Art]

Glad to see this is still alive. I was wondering where it had gone.

[Immortal-D]

Between losing an update and tons of work stuff, I was burned out.  Feels good to be back though   By the way, I think your Dwarf has a drinking problem.  I mean even by Dwarf standards.  "You have struck Clear Opal!" 'Pencil_Art is throwing a party', "Piglet has grown to become a stray Boar!" 'Pencil_Art is throwing a party'.  It just goes on like that

[Immortal-D]

First time using Stone Sense   I couldn't figure how how to zoom or rotate, but I did get a 4-z view.  Here you can see the top of the feasting hall, then down to ground level.  Still needs little details like railings, all glass & gold furniture, etc.  Still, I'm quite pleased.

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[Immortal-D]

30 Granite
Although my constant vigilance is appreciated by fellow Dwarves, such exertions do take a toll.  Hmm, you know I rather like the idea of a secret underground layer.  What the Humans call a 'trap door'.  No reason I can't have both at once.

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1 Malachite
I knew it.  I knew the moment I saw that surprisingly still fluffy horror, it would be trouble.

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12 Malachite
We have triumphed over the foul creature, fighting it back into a cage, thought victory came at a cost.  One of the Peasants was a bit slow returning to the burrow, and got mauled something fierce.

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The newest recruit of The Lined Banners also

caught a swipe to his shield hand, but is expected to make a full recovery.

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As you can see from the report, we have a new Chief Medical Dwarf.  Just as I relinquished the position of Broker, so too has SaberToothTiger graciously stepped down.  She seemed quite relieved in fact, happy to give responsibility to a professional doctor.  Not wishing to diminish one of our veteran Dwarfettes, I immediately assign her the position of Stone Master.  Let it be known now and forever, she is the undisputed leader of all things mining & masonry.

20 Malachite
The recent skirmish has spurred our defenders to the next level.

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They progress quickly, but when the inevitable war with the hippies is upon our door step, we will

need more than a militia to fend them off.  We're going to need a full-on fighting force.

31 Malachite
The Miners have reported some disturbances near the central shaft.  I sigh, and dismiss the peasant.  Ugh, now I'll never get back to sleep.  I'm beginning to think having my room alongside all of the commoners was... what's the racket?

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38 Malachite
A review of our security protocols revealed the flaw; by quickly climbing across from one tunnel to another, the troll was able to avoid detection until it emerged in the central dormitories.  The Marksdwarf who saved the day informed me that a crossbow handles much like a hammer when wielded the right way.  Although her aim is improving, she will be classified as a Hammerdwarf until such time as her shooting skill has surpassed her bashing skill.

45 Malachite
We have scraped together enough iron to make a few weapons.  For the zombies which still have a brain, a quick, piercing jab is the best solution.  Thus, I send a priority order to the forges; iron spears, a full suit of bronze armor, and copper shield.

60 Malachite
We have seriously miscalculated The Evil.  Our walls can halt The Mist's advance, but nothing can stop it from coalescing within the walls to start.  All construction on the beach has been suspended until further notice.  Given the wide area in which we

have seen it forming, the entire sub-chamber will have to be scrapped.  The pipeline will have to suffice by itself.

83 Malachite
Feels like I haven't slept in months, my head is killing me.
*Sir!  Battle report from the third level mines!*
No...

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*Seal the mineshafts!! Get that new bridge in place!  All civilians evacuate the dorms immediately!  We have to*

My eyes slowly adjust to the torchlight.  Did the Troglodyte knock me out?  I remember charging with my pick, then.. something.  Nothing?  I look around the grand feasting hall.  No Dwarf appears to be panicking.  I grab the nearest Dwarf, *You there!  What the hell is going on?!*  He appears a bit concerned, worried he has offended the Baron.  Refusing the Nobility is a grave violation of Tradion, and every Dwarf knows the consequences.  *Sir, the hatch covers are almost finished, and that troll has been hauled to the safe side of the refuse pile.*

I let him go, more confused than ever.  I seem to remember... a party?  Yes, we were celebrating the start of our cistern project, channeling water directing from the ocean.  The masons had just laid the foundations for a sub-chamber on the beach, which would funnel directly into a reservoir 2 layers down.  Then what I saw, nay experienced... was a dream?  A vision.

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I immediately race to my office.  *You there! Get these orders to the crews immediately.  I want everything on this list verified and started in 3 days tops!*

1. Cancel & deconstruct the new bunker.  Add a top to the pipeline and keep away from the shore afterwards.
2. Enough equipment to arm & armor 6 Speardwarves
3. Seal the staircase above the central mineshaft.  I want a large side tunnel leading back on itself, with sufficient room mined around to create a fortified position.
4. Drink all of the Prickle Berry Wine we have left, I don't want to see that stuff ever again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TLDR: Game crashed, and my last backup was shortly after the Troll incident.  Hope you enjoyed (or at least didn't terribly mind) this bit of self-indulgent narrative   On the plus side, I now realize that Evil Mist can spawn anywhere it pleases.  The main sand castle remains safe, but any hope of building on the beach itself has been laid to rest.  Perhaps most importantly, the efficiency gained from a having a central mineshaft route is simply not worth the risk.  Going forward, mineshaft access will be broken up every few levels, requiring a series of back-and-forth crossings.  Traps and patrol routes across these paths should be enough to stop any serious threat, or at least stall it long enough to activate the fail-safe bridges.

[Immortal-D]

Breaking news!  Normally I wouldn't make a new post for 1 thing but... it's just so beautiful

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I mean; a statue called 'PuzzledEntries', clearly depicting me as future ruler of the Dwarves, due to my stark resemblance to our founding King.  Also, masterfully designed image of a hatch cover!! Truly, this is a work of art.  We now return you to reading... anything else, really.

[Immortal-D]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get comfy, this one is a decently long read.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2 Galena
In the wake  of my prickle berry-induced visions, the Fortress has become a bit more chaotic than usual, with at least half a dozen simultaneous projects.  First and foremost, all non-industry Dwarves have been evaluated for combat readiness.  The new recruits tackled their training with the same fervor as they are tackling each other, still a bit timid about using their weapons.

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Meanwhile, PsychoAngel has begun learning the subtle techniques of a true Master.

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I commission a crystal glass statue in honor of her achievement.

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Well... at least it's to scale.

10 Galena
Finally!  Divine inspiration from the forges.

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I am truly humbled to be depicted alongside such a magnificent hatch cover.  I guess the rendition of our founding King is good too.

11 Galena
Turns out, the Dwarf's inspiration was only semi-divine.  He his now a legendary Metalcrafter, able to to mold metals into fantastical shapes & designs, limited only by his imagination.  Unfortunately, he remains a novice Blacksmith, meaning the limits of his imagination are geometric shapes and turnips, in that order.  Will be some time before he able to craft Masterworks.  On a more positive note, the Masonry team has assembled under strict leadership of SaberToothTiger, our new Mistress of Stone & Earth since retiring from Chief Medical Dwarf.  The Dwarves quickly set about deconstructing the foundations of the beach bunker.

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In the middle of everything, that poor peasant from the earlier Raven attack finally succumbed to his wounds.  He died working with stone, the most any Dwarf could hope for.  He shall be laid to rest in the new Hall Of Heroes, alongside all of our past fallen kin.

4 Limestone
A hulking parody of a cave troll gave our miners a good scare this morning.  The thing managed to scale the steep cavern walls using one good arm and its' teeth.

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The breach was quickly sealed off, a few scraps of copper is not worth the risk.

9 Limestone
A diversion!!  We lost 4 Miners to a previously unnoticed sub-cavern.

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More like a giant crater than a cavern, I don't know how a Troglodyte even got down there.  Must have been lost for ages, because the zombie was quite eager to get out.  In true Dwarf fashion, the first Miner lead it back down to the mineshafts, doing his best to buy us time enough for the militia to mobilize.

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Damned thing was put down before it could cause any lasting damage.  Still, every loss hits us hard, especially with rumors from the Mountainhome about a new Goblin advance.  SaberToothTiger sets the mood by holding a party in their honor; both commemorating their accomplishments, and welcoming our new Miners.

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15 Sandstone
I was beginning to worry that we wouldn't make our deadline.  We finally did it, the first pillar of Dwarfiness, elevating the status of Aranas amongst all Dwarves.

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Nearly 2.7k Dwarfbucks worth of fine glass wares!  No small feat, considering our ever-present fuel shortage.  Looking out over the battlements, I smile at the results of our tree slaying efforts, though it remains barely sufficient to keep up production.

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As I turn my gaze North to the coastline, I notice that our animal pen is no longer exposed to the Ravens!  The enclosure is two stories tall with a thin-but-sturdy glass ceiling to regulate temperature.  Additionally, the back of the pen opens to our new windmills, providing both power and a pleasant ocean breeze, further cooling our steadily growing herd of alpacas.

16 Sandstone
Correction, make that our massive herd of alpacas.

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Well, at least Pencil_Art will have fun testing out new recipes for alpaca biscuits.

31 Moonstone
Congratulations to PsychoAngel!

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19 Granite
I think perhaps centuries of tree-hugging has finally begun to take  a toll on the Elves' sanity.

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This notion is enforced by his demand that we limit our tree-slaying, and that he actually believed me.

12 Slate
Today we received a courier from the Mountainhome.  He claims it is merely a precautionary measure, but I fear the worst.

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Still, we must uphold Tradition at all costs.  Work orders are immediately diverted towards fashioning royal accommodations.  Like with my own lodging when I was elevated to Baron, the King's rooms will be more quantity than quality, but it will suffice for now.  Thankfully we have several expert stone carvers, able to transform any room into a fantastic work of art.

1 Hematite
The betting pool has grown quite substantial, with the Fortress divided about the outcome.  Half thought The Mist would 'kill' the zombies out right, while the other half thought they would transform into an entirely new zombie.

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So long as they don't learn to climb, I could care less.  Of all the people to share the royal lineage, it just had to be our Chief Medical Dwarf.  The new guy is a decent Diagnostician, but he has a ways to go.  If that weren't bad enough, the de facto King has demanded 3 new anvils!  He says it will serve as inspiration to the Fortress, a mark of our resourcefulness.  We have a handful of iron bars remaining, enough to fulfill this request.  Still, I worry about future requests.  In an act of desperation, I order every spare scrap of iron be melted, assemble as much of a bar as we possibly can.

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10 Limestone
Three more anvils!!  Does the fool think that royal decree is enough to make metals simply spring from the ground?!  *Sigh*  No help for it now.  Once a mandate has been issued, it can never be withdrawn.  We must hold fast to Tradition, no matter the cost.  On the other hand, I know from my studies that there exists precedent for changing Tradition.  Still, seems I'll have to start evaluating candidates for the position of Hammerer.

21 Limestone
Since the tragic loss of Miners last season, the veterans have all doubled their efforts to dig deeper, myself included.  Taking a breather, I peer out over the walkway of the third Cavern.  Whatever dispatched the residents here is likely still lurking the shadows, waiting to be free.  Everything from Cave Crocodiles & Giant Olms to Jabberers and less known beasts like scattered in broken heaps.

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Wait, what's the rustling?

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*Crundle zombie coming in fast!!  Sound the alarm!*  One of the new miners is on the scene.  Perhaps seeking to avenge his comrades, he bravely charges the fiend.  Even with crushed eyes, the zombie looked surprised when the Miner turned around and bit it right back in turn.

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I struggle to thank the Dwarf without barfing on him.  Armok knows we have enough of the stuff since exposing the farms to sunlight for renovations.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

12 Sandstone
When I meet the liaison, his face tell me all before formally announcing the tragedy.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It is as I feared, then.  Aranas is officially the last bastion of free Dwarves on the planet.  I take a long swig of plum wine has he describes the details.  The green skins set out with a force two thousand strong, losing only stragglers en route.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The military reserves exhausted, a mere 13 Dwarves stood fast against the horde.  They took as many down with them, but ultimately our Mountainhome is now under occupied rule.

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Lastly, I am given top secret maps showing the route taken by our enemy, plus the trading path between Aranas and the Mountainhome.  Scouts have also procured the trading & war routes of the other civilizations.  Hopefully the Arrogant Ones will be too preoccupied with their recent war against Humans to pay us much heed.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I solemnly nod, understanding the full implications.  Aranas must proper, for we are now the staging ground of all future Dwarven expansion.  We will have to train Adventurers and new Overseers if we are ever to reclaim our Mountainhome.  The few remaining rebels are asking that we trade for bolts, fuel, and blades.  Everything we ourselves are struggling with.  It is with a heavy heart that I accept every spare bit of coke, iron, and steel the caravan can provide.  The King's second set of anvils will be made on time, but I don't know how we can possibly accommodate any more such requests.

For now, Aranas remains the greatest only beach Fortress in the world.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well that took a dark turn rather quickly   On the plus side, we have our first Achievements!!   *happy dance*.  "That's great and all, but what the heck took you so long?"  Well I'll tell you.  In my excitement at having figured out safe and efficient scaffolding for multi-z constructions, I completely forgot to make blocks.  So the masons and haulers have been using raw boulders this whole time, which are significantly heavier, and can't be transported via wheelbarrow or minecart.  Oops   Oh well, setting up a block transport system should be a relatively simple task.

The first Cavern layer is 100% sealed, and the single stair entrance of the third Cavern (the lone zombie Crundle crawling up a tree used) has likewise been sealed.  Hopefully, we'll hit Blood of the Earth in short order.  Of course there is the not-inconsequential matter of transporting the stuff to a useable distance within the Fort, but we'll burn that bridge (lulz) when we get there.  Lastly on the subject of unnecessarily complex !FUN! projects, all of the safe guards are in place for the first test of the ocean pumping system.  The Sculpted Caves will finally have a Well (desalinated), and if I did it right, combination waterfall & mist generator.  I have updated the OP to reflect our current Dwarfiness Points status.  If anyone has actually made this far, give yourself an alpaca biscuit, on me

[NCommander]

I'll take a turn. I'll even livestream it if there's any interest.

[Immortal-D]

I'll take a turn. I'll even livestream it if there's any interest.

I would actually be interested to see the live play of my little beach enclave.  I have a few months left, you can start Spring of 125.  Given how quickly The Barbarity of Ivy moved against the Mountainhome, you might even get a siege during your turn.  If not them, then probably the Elves once they see the latest tree slaying campaign   Plus there's still the issue of cleansing the caverns, as the excess of zombies seems to prevent anything else from spawning (haven't seen in a Unicorn in 1&1/2 years now).

[NCommander]

I'll take a turn. I'll even livestream it if there's any interest.

I would actually be interested to see the live play of my little beach enclave.  I have a few months left, you can start Spring of 125.  Given how quickly The Barbarity of Ivy moved against the Mountainhome, you might even get a siege during your turn.  If not them, then probably the Elves once they see the latest tree slaying campaign   Plus there's still the issue of cleansing the caverns, as the excess of zombies seems to prevent anything else from spawning (haven't seen in a Unicorn in 1&1/2 years now).

I regularly livestream Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays 7-11PM. I'm currently streaming channelcaught, my most recent fortress, but I can put that on hold. The one downside is its *difficult* to write any major story; my update will likely be a recap and a youtube video ...