Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Dame de la Licorne]

Alright, founding crew is set, any further interested folks will have to wait for the first migrant wave.  Embarking now.

[Dame de la Licorne]

We have arrived.  Our list of supplies is as follows:
1 steel spear
1 copper crossbow
1 bronze crossbow
2 copper picks
16 turtle
30 wood
30 dwarven wine
30 dwarven beer
30 dwarven ale
30 dwarven rum
6 pig tail bags
6 cave spider silk bags
5 pig tail seeds
5 sweet pod seeds
10 plump helmet spawn
21 plump helmet
20 sheep meat
10 dogs
1 mule
2 one-humped camels
1 horse
1 war dog

The members of the expedition include:
Surath (myself)
   

Jusk (Torak)
   

Kroma (Krom)
   

Watson (Foamy)
   

Korbin (Captain Mayday)
   

Bricktop (Bricktop)
   

Viktoria (Skanky)
   

Sorry for the delay folks, hopefully things will go smoother now that I've got the hang of it more or less.

[ January 25, 2008: Message edited by: Dame de la Licorne ]

[Captain Mayday]

I seriously suggest using the png format and www.tinypic.com

[Dame de la Licorne]

Ah, thanks.

[Dame de la Licorne]

Surath was surprised when the Queen summoned her, for her family had long been out of favor at the royal court.  But the Queen's request, nay command, astonished her even more.
"I have decided to allow you the honor of leading the next expedition that leaves to search for more adamantine.  Should you succeed, your family will be restored to the position they once enjoyed."
Surath had no skills that might help such an expedition, other than some minor skill in negotiating and calming other dwarfs, but nothing really useful.  However, Surath was quick enough to understand that the Queen's wish was in fact a command, and thanking her for the honor, she left, wondering how she was to manage putting together an expedition of the sort?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Granite, 1051

Well, Surath thought, though it was uncertain whether there was adamantine here (for it was very rare and hard to find), it was fairly obvious that someone back in the Mountainhomes wanted someone on this expedition dead, and she had a horrid feeling that it was herself.  For, looking around, she saw only a yellow, sandy desert to the west, and the forbidding peaks of the mountains to the east.  A cursed place, there was not a single tree or plant in view.  Not even water!
"Curse these mountains!"
And then she thought, yes, that is a good name for this place, Cursemountains.

[Krom]

1Granite51
I'm not sure about these dwarves I'm with.

Viktoria seems really great. She's super-enthusiastic about her glassmaking, and really appreciates my art as well. It's good to know she's along. Everyone else.... I dunno.

Our leader seems smart. She's constantly checking in on us, and telling us what the plan is, and talking about how great it's going to be. But when I reflect on the stuff she says, it seems like a bunch of empty platitudes. There's no actual content to her words. I don't think she's ever done this before.

There's stalker guy, who's always scanning around like we're gonna get jumped at any moment. And the guy with his pick. I try to stay away from both of them.

Sketchy guy seems like he might be OK. He showed some interest in some of the little trinkets I made for my bracelet. But he's, I dunno, raggedy. And he smells.

And spear guy. He's got a couple of dogs, so he can't be all bad. He seems like he knows a lot of useful little things. But he hasn't trained his dogs AT ALL. They're totally wild and they don't get along with my babies, so I try to keep clear of him. Maybe I can teach his pups some basic stuff when we arrive.

We're stopping now in some totally forsaken place. Dunno know why, probably to take a meal break. Some of the turtles are looking a little sickly, so I can't wait until we get there and I can find a nice pond for them. Hope we get there soon and away from this hellhole.

[Dame de la Licorne]

2nd Granite, 1051

Kroma asked Surath when they would be moving on that morning, and seemed to have received the shock of her life when Surath answered,
"We've arrived."
"You've got to be kidding!  What are we doing in this godforsaken place?  Not even Armok could find us here!"

The other dwarves had gathered around and wore varying expressions of horror and disbelief.

"I didn't have any say in where this expedition was headed, do you people honestly think that I would have chosen this place?!  The Queen commanded, and so here we are.  Would any of you have been brave enough to tell Her Majesty that this was a stupid idea?"

No one said a word but she could see that Kroma was going to be trouble.
However, busy dwarves are happy dwarves, or at least wouldn't have time to think about the situation.  So Surath told Bricktop and Viktoria to begin carving out a base, starting with some farms so they could ensure that at least the booze didn't too low, and then get started in some basic bedrooms so they could sleep in relative comfort.  None of the dwarves complained, but she guessed it was because they were still in shock from her news, and that complaints aplenty would be rolling in before long.

[ January 25, 2008: Message edited by: Dame de la Licorne ]

[Dame de la Licorne]

15th Slate, 1051
The farms are completed, and Surath decided that, since none of the dwarves had any experience at farming, she would take over the planting and nurturing of the seedlings.  The bedrooms had been carved out of the same sandy soil as the farms, and at least they could all sleep indoors.  

Watson and Korbin were sharing the task of making cabinets and chests enough for everyone, and when Watson was bored with masonry work, he would work on making beds.  

Kroma had been set to work turning the ubiquitous raw stone into crafts, which seemed to raise her spirits a little, though she would insist on everyone admiring them when they were taken to the stockpile and always with a sideways glance at Surath as if to say, Why is such a great artist stuck in this hellhole?

But, all in all, it was a good start.  However, they had also been working without sleep for over a month, and they were beginning to collapse where they stood, falling into an exhausted slumber that would clearly last for at least a few days.

[ January 25, 2008: Message edited by: Dame de la Licorne ]

[Krom]

15Slate51
It's only been a month and a half? Seems like eternity. Tippy died overnight, so that's the last of the turtles. Plump helmet and sheep meat is not a fit diet for turtles. I'm getting a bit fed up with it myself.

Saw Surath yesterday working in her "farms" to ask what new food she was growing. Plump helmets. More plump helmets. Don't get me wrong, I love a good plump helmet, especially in a stew, or roasted. But nobody on this expedition is a cook. Seems like yet another major oversight.

Anyhow, I asked if that was the extent of the food variety we could expect. She casually mentioned that the dead turtles had been stored in barrels in the food supply, so that was an option.

I have no words.

When I can trust myself to speak to her again, I'll have to mention that we need different kinds of stone for my crafts. She should tell Brick to dig down in a whole bunch of different places so I can get some cool material to work with. And Viktoria's talents are being wasted!

Man, I'm tired and a little cranky. Maybe after I get some sleep I'll be able to slip some advice to our exalted "leader."

[ January 25, 2008: Message edited by: Krom ]

[Dame de la Licorne]

23 Felsite, 1051
Screenshots of the bedrooms and temporary work area.  These are two z-levels below and a screen to the west of the starting point.

Kroma realy was getting annoying, Surath considered.  How many different kinds of stone could one craftsdwarf want?  They had managed to tunnel deeply enough into the mountain to find some microcline, andesite and alunite.  Surely she could content herself with those for the time being?

On another note, the dogs really were irritating, constantly blocking the passage in and out of the hole-in-the-ground, as Surath privately called it.  So she had commanded that some kennels be built and the dogs trained into war dogs.  They would work quite well against the vermin (which was how she referred to kobolds).  And since Kroma was the only dwarf with any animal training skill in the group, she was nominated.  Kroma didn't seem very pleased at the prospect of less time with her art, but as Viktoria pointed out,
"We don't want to ruin any perfectly good dogs through bad training, right?"

And as far as Kroma's not-so-subtle hints that Viktoria's talents were wasted, Surath had almost lost her temper,
"I know that she's a far better glassmaker than she ever would be as a miner!"  She took a deep breath to calm herself.  "But we don't have any wood to spare and until we do, she's agreed to help make a livable home.  If she doesn't complain, I don't see why you feel you need to.  And if you're so concerned, go make some trade goods so that we can get more wood from the caravan!"

Kroma had looked surprised.  "What caravan would think to look for us in the back of beyond?"

"The Queen promised a caravan would come in the autumn, and since she's the one who sent us here, the caravan will know where to come."  But Surath spoke with more confidence than she felt.  For what caravan would manage to come to such a deserted wasteland with all of the dangers along the way?

[Foamy]

Watson's past: Watson began his career in his hometown as the assistant of the local sheriff. This was a period though as the sheriff was soon promoted to work in the capital but fortunately decided to take Watson along. They spend several years working in the city alongside the town guard until one fateful day his friend to investigate an occurrence in a nearby village. on the way they were attacked by a giant eagle. Watson never saw his friend again after he was carried away into the distance. On the return journey he came across a group of adventures and was asked to join. He accepted mainly because he hadn't seen a drop of alcohol in weeks. He was happy with his decision until they stopped.

[Dame de la Licorne]

24th Felsite, 1051
Surath was planting more plump helmets when Bricktop panted up, surprised because he was normally fairly calm.

"Marble!" He panted.

"Marble?"

"Yes, yes!  Marble!"

Surath replied, "Another white stone, what's so important about another white stone?"

Bricktop looked at her as if she had lost her senses.  "Marble is a flux material, used in making steel."

"Steel!" Now that had gotten her attention.  "But don't we need iron for that?"

"Well yes, but there may be some hematite in these mountains somewhere, it's the right type of rock."

"Steel," breathed Surath.  "Bricktop, if you can find iron somewhere in this Armok-forsaken mountain, I'll guarantee you'll never want for anything if I can possibly arrange it."

Bricktop, a miner at heart as well as by trade, needed no encouragement at all to get back to work.  And although he was busy carving out a more permanent sleeping and dining area, he was of course constantly on the lookout for iron, as well as the adamantine that they were supposedly sent there for.

[Dame de la Licorne]

15th Hematite, 1051
"Thief!  Protect the hoard from skulking filth!"

Bricktop's yell echoed through the tunnels.

Watson and Korbin promptly charged the hapless kobold along with Bricktop and all of the dogs, into which the creature had inadvertently strayed.  The kobold lasted only a moment longer before being reduced to a mangled heap.

But, Surath and the others wondered, why would a kobold want to steal something from Cursemountains?  They had nothing!  They would never understand kobolds.  Nor understand how the filthy vermin had managed to find them here.

"Jusk, could you go scouting around, and see if maybe we don't have some unwelcome neighbors?"  Surath requested.

Jusk, being a military dwarf by training and growing increasingly frustrated with only hauling to do, agreed with alacrity.  "And while I'm at it," he added, "I'll see if I can't bring in some fresh meat.  The sheep stuff is getting really old."

[Dame de la Licorne]

16th Hematite, 1051
Another kobold thief?  This one was torn apart by the dogs Kroma had insisted on bringing along, and Surath was glad Kroma had prevailed in this.  She was right, the dogs made excellent guards, even though most were as yet untrained since Kroma preferred making her trinkets to training war dogs.  But Surath wouldn't say a word since the dogs were doing their job anyway.

But, two thieves in two days was obviously a sign of how deranged the vermin really were.  One thief, she could understand, mistakes happened.  But two thieves trying to steal from an outpost that had absolutely nothing of concrete value, only (possibly) false promises of wealth?

Edit: It was actually three thieves in two days, but I didn't realize it until I noticed that there were three copper daggers in the stockpile, so they must have arrived together and the dogs tore them apart without my seeing the second one.

[ January 25, 2008: Message edited by: Dame de la Licorne ]

[Dame de la Licorne]

20th Malachite, 1051
"Everybody underground!"  Bricktop came running as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Why?" "What's wrong?" "Where's the enemy?" Several dwarves cried out at once, some in concern, some in fear, some eager for a change in routine.

"It's a giant eagle!" panted Bricktop.  "It was over by the chasm."

"The chasm!  What were you doing there, there's nothing of interest there." Korbin was beginning to gain a reputation for saying exactly what he thought, regardless of the consequences, leading Surath to wonder if that might not be the reason he had been included on this expedition.

"There were some bat remains that needed to be dumped.  I was going to get them."

"Bat remains...that needed to be dumped?  And you decided to brave the chasm, with its giant spiders, troglodytes and Armok knows what else, just for some less than worthless bat remains?"  Surath was confused.

Bricktop remained adamant and insisted that when refuse of any sort existed outside the designated dumping zone, it needed to be taken care of.  At once.  Regardless of any dangers that might lie along the way.  Though, he conceded, giant eagles might pose a bit of a problem.

"Giant eagles!  Take me to them and I'll exterminate them all for what they did to my friend the Sheriff!"  Watson had arrived.

It took Surath over an hour to convince Watson to leave the eagle alone for the moment as he had been asked to butcher Jusk's kills in addition to his other jobs (therefore leading him with no time for revenge) and to convince Bricktop that the bat remains could remain where they were for all she cared.  By the end of it, she had a splitting headache.