Violenttrades... did live up to its name.
While trading proceeded well enough initially, the moment this surface troll stumbled across the depot things escalated. For a good ten seconds it and the caravan guards just stared each other down, then a short battle erupted resulting in the troll's death. Fortunately, the merchants didn't leave.
I got some random items, seeds, another pick, a very cheap sword, and even a cat, so not a bad deal for some old carved bones.
Unfortunately, even more stuff went wrong moments later.
Itob, the dwarf tasked to mine out what would become the dwarves' home for the forseeable future, decided to go have a drink before digging anything. One giant cave toad attack later, I had an unconscious miner and no digging. The toad then wandered into my tavern and got itself killed by a ramshackle militia. Ah well, we got some meat out of it.
Before I could focus on the mining issue, the autumn migrant group arrived, swelling the fortress's population to 25 (23 of which are of age).
After some equipment-switching, I had two dwarves digging at a snail's pace. The stone they produced were immediately used for mechanisms, doors, furniture and floodgates.
As I was taking care of all this, I noticed a dwarf lying in a pool of blood in the cavern a fair distance away from everyone else. Closer inspection revealed that apparently it was my militia commander, and apparently he got severely mauled by a cave crocodile. I must've missed it amongst the troll and cave toad announcements.
He was quickly dragged into a 'hospital' (read: secluded part of the cave) and is at the very least unlikely to die, though I doubt how much he'll be able to heal with no trained doctors.
The miners eventually grew better, and finally I had a proper place to live, with stockpiles, workshops, a dining room and even a dormitory. No farms had been created inside of it yet, but a large room was being prepared for temporary flooding.
Suddenly, I get a message that one of my dwarves has been possessed. Imagine my surprise when I see it's my former militia commander, who has begun dragging himself to... a clothier's shop? Apparently he needs cloth and gems. Fortunately, I had created quite some cave spider silk cloth while preparing for the caravan.
Unfortunately, it seems the dwarf wants another type of cloth. That's a problem: I won't be able to plant pig tails for two more seasons, I have no yarn or wool, and I have no animals I can shear. Even if I found out what type of cloth he wants, I wouldn't be able to get him it.
Then again, I'm hesitant to just let the guy die. I haven't had a single casualty so far, and I'd like to keep it that way.
If all else fails, I may hope he turns berserk and let him topple a statue in a temple area. Having a werebeast or vampire on hand should have its uses.