In my glacier, since apparently the top two caverns lacked any flora, I dug into the third one.
And immediately found the great light metal, some magma, and a circus tent.
I AM BECOME DEATH.
EDIT: So many zombies...
...so many...
Thankfully I put the stairwell down to the caverns on a different stairwell than the fortress proper. The zombies will pay.
EDIT2: Whups, accidentally released the denizens of the underworld before the second spring. I thought they'd be slower. Is one person armed with two iron swords strong enough to hold them off?
EDIT3: OH CRAP ONE OF THE DEMONS STARTED MELTING THE GLACIER
ONLY THE PURE STONE AREAS ARE SAFE
EDIT4: By cleverly sealing the demons in their fortress, I can begin rebuilding with the small ragtag bunch of civilians who remain. Orbsdistant will survive this early lapse of judgement. On the plus side, the adamantine weapon that I removed safely made it into the fortress proper.
EDIT5: Population of 17 reduced to 8. Survivors include:
Person with crippled arm trapped underground. Killed one fire ghost with her bare hands and a second with a spear dropped by underground tribesmen.
Four random miners.
The expedition leader.
And one soldier with a surprising kill history from before this fort began.
Is rebuilding this fortress from a near-end greater than that of Headshoots's near-end possible?
Especially in this life-hating glacier? Where giant clouds of doom float by from time to time?
Time to find out. Only a single workshop was lost, the mason's shop.