Construction has gone well! It's been a full new year and nearly the entire ground level of the main fort has been floored over. The woodcutters have finally decided to clear the encroaching trees, a few civilians are still very unhappy about being homeless (building the new level of civilan quarters has been slow what with the resources being diverted to fortifying Eshomaud's defenses) and having their pets slaughtered. Apparently I'm still at siege, with no enemies in sight so I assume stealthy necromancers are afoot. The bees are... Well, taking their time, but time's what I have so I don't mind. Ravens... Ravens everywhere.
Winter is leaving, so at least I'll be able to rid myself of the ravens and
welcome the keas oh god nevermind.
And finally! After 3 years of digging deeper and discovering the first native metals (tetrahedrite), the Dwarves of Silentthunders have finished mapping out the local veins, digging them up and moving the important stuff away.
I've dug up several dozen goshenites and other semi-precious stones since any chance of imported ones will be lost forever due to eternal siege, enough copper and silver supplies to last me the entire fort lifespan, and chert. Lots of chert. Now other metals than brass can be added to my list of commonplace building materials, yet I'm left with the problem. What to do with all that space?
Currently the mine is sealed up via locked doors to save FPS, and is divided into sections for easy managing of territory should I ever make my mind up.
Colour coded each sector that has been individually sealed from the other for viewing convenience
It's too far away to be a frequently used part of the fortress, and will be linked straight to the caverns when I find it. Of course it could just be more permanently sealed up than it is right now, but considering how this is (besides the quarry itself) the only major mining operation ever done by my Dwarves, and it takes up so much space that I'd feel it'd be wasted just doing nothing there but look awesome.
Of the most like conversions, I'm probably going to turn the closed mines into:
1. A shadow Fortress populated entirely by creatures not of total Dwarf kind. Were creatures, vampires (if I find any), even captured merchant guards. Should the Fort fall, its shadow would emerge from the depths to reclaim the surface.
And vomit everywhere.
This of course does require me finding somethings worth keeping separated, preserved, contained or protected. I have two were-creatures, three were-dwarves, one necromancer and a few merchant guards (who I've now considered protecting, given their scarcity). I don't think that's enough. And even then, it'd defeat the purpose of me sealing it away to preserve FPS.
2. A Dwarf vault. Vacuum packed with supplies such as undead pigs (to preserve the food), booze, water, raw materials and enough weapons and armour to field a squad or two. In the event of Fortress catastrophe, the Fort would be abandoned, all the levers pulled and broken to ensure total irreversible lockdown. Any Dwarves that would not be holding back the disaster would have to find their way into escape pods, ensure they're secure before locating tunnels that lead to the vault.
This would of course demand I build entirely new infrastructure, one much deeper than the roads above the quarry. This seems likely to be the case.
3. A mix of the two.
4. An abandoned mine filled with nasties. Dwarves sent there won't be coming back. Be it a lone secluded vampire, or a zombie GDS. Something.
5. The next migrant group has to survive inside that layer for the rest of their days. I'll give them all the resources they need. But they have to live in the space of the mine, and only the mine. First, it'll seem like paradise. Then, when it starts getting over populated and Dwarves get more agitated...
Appreciate ideas/suggestions. I wanted to make a flowing underground river/cave system, but the local river freezes often.