Things have gotten lively in Relicblaze.
An incursion of goblin snatchers and ambush squads was dealt with by the melee squads in the tunnels. Including a one-dwarf steel tornado as a legendary axe dwarf dismembered a group of goblin archers by himself. Just blocked or dodged everything they shot at him and hewed them down.
Soon afterward a lumbering expedition was mounted for the annual clear cutting of the surface to keep the sight lines clear and snowy.
Cue another minotaur attack. Entering right where the woodcutters are working. Militia summoned, woodcutters flee, minotaur picks one and pursues.
Minotaur catches dwarf three tiles before the first melee troops arrive. He gores the dwarf in the head for a instant kill. Moments later a morningstar cramps the minotaur's day by breaking his leg. Followed by a axe lord caving in the minotaur's skull with a steel battleaxe.
The casualty? The fortress mayor. Also a legendary woodcutter and bowyer. Buried with honors while the minotaur's corpse goes into the dump.
A few FBs appear and die. Ho-hum.
The goblins siege in the autumn. First "vile force of darkness" to appear in over three years. We are *very* ready. Five squads of cavalry, including an archer squad with an elite archer leader. Three units of ogres arrive as well. (About the biggest siege I've seen. 80 goblins, 80 mounts, and 24 ogres.)
Most of the goblins enter via the East Tunnel. This allows the water gun emplacement to get an operational test. The ogres are allowed past for the marksdwarves and traps to deal with. When the first two cavalry squads are coming past the water gun it is activated and then allowed to fire until it runs dry. Meanwhile, the goblins get sealed in (about five lashers and mounts escaped) and pounded by the marksdwarves and then mopped up by some melee troops.
The water gun was using two carts and firing a round roughly every 100 ticks (a cart took 200 ticks to cycle and two were cycling.) The water ball was doing a very nice job bowling goblins and mounts into each other, pushing them 5-10 tiles backwards, and basically causing mayhem. And also pushing things into a drainage pit about 25 tiles down range. Once it ran dry a rough count of damage inflicted was taken. 9 goblins and 23 mounts killed; 20 goblins and 7 mounts still alive in the pit (a few dead from having others dropped on them.) So the water gun essentially dealt with two of the five squads by itself - I consider that a successful defense device.
Now to the slow reloading process, cleaning up corpses, and figuring out how to finish off the goblins and mounts sitting down in the drainage pit.