26 Granite 75Lotu had decided to start digging from the future central staircase, since that was the most convenient route when he had a hankering for a snack or a drink. The going was slow, only a few bots a day, but he thought that maybe the great miners back home might deign to consider him at least a novice now.
All of a sudden he froze.
Was that…water? A LOT of water?Leaving the wall half dug, he raced up the ramps, fearing the worse. At first glance, everything on the surface seemed fine, but some of the others (Olin and Ushrir among them) were looking around in confusion.
“It came from over there.” Ushrir pointed to the northwest of the main area, toward a grouping of small ponds, and they headed in that direction.
As they drew closer, Imic came into view, walking around a tree and studying it closely. Then he hefted his axe, and landed a mighty blow. Pieces of bark flew off, and a shallow scratch appeared on the trunk.
Lotu looked around at the cleared area in approval, then licked his lips in thought.
“Nice job, Imic.” He started slowly. “It looks like you’re chopping plenty of trees, but—“
“Where’s the wood!” Olin jumped in, coming straight to the point that Lotu had been planning to make a little more gently.
Imic motioned toward the piles of logs already beginning to litter the ground. “There. That should be plenty, right?”
“What about there!” Olin pointed emphatically. “I see five big stumps, and very few logs. Where’s. The. Rest?”
“Oh, those? Uh…they’re...around. Somewhere over there.” He made a vague gesture toward the pools.
Lotu’s stomach dropped.
He didn’t.He walked over to the nearest pool, then the next.
He did.
That’s going to be bitch.“Imic, who do you think is going to have to fish them out of there?”
“They’re where!?” Lotu could almost see Olin vibrating with anger. “Ooohh! How do you expect me to build furniture or anything else if you drop all my wood at the bottom of a lake?”
Imic shrugged. “It was convenient. Anyhow, that’s where part of the defenses are goin’, right? You’ll have to drain ‘em anyway, we can fetch them then.”
Sweeping his arm toward the center of the work area, he indicated all of the other trees that had been marked for removel.
“It’s not like we need them
now. There’s lots of other wood around.”
Thikut Luk give me patience. “Imic, the point is, we don’t
know that we don’t need them now. We didn’t know we needed that mountain of rock until I hit water underground. What happens if all of a sudden we need more wood and you’ve sent it to the bottom of a pool?”
“Simple. I’ll chop more trees.”
Lotu took a deep breath, and blew it sharply out through his nose. “Just…try not to do it again. We have too many other things to do. And remember what King Dodok said. Whatever Whippedesteem orders, they get. We need to have plenty of wood available to make what they want, and still make what
we want.”
Imic heaved a deep breath, not quite a sigh. “Fine. Fine.”
He walked toward a tree several
bots away from the nearest pool, and was conspicuously careful to stand between it and the pool before he started hacking away once more.
Lotu turned to Olin, who was speechless with rage. “Don’t worry, Olin. I’ll get that wood out, but it’ll have to wait until you and Kadol make those pumps. Meanwhile, there’s still some rum left, and I need a drink. Join me?”
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Excerpt from the journal of Lotu Sizzlediron, expedition leader.27 Granite 75All of that tangled greenery with the odd rustling noises to the west and the wide-open spaces to the east must have started playing with my friends’ minds. At dinner Kadol insisted that, since she would be in charge of building the greatest aquifer-breaching system the world has ever seen, she deserved to get a new name. A dwarf in Theaterknowledge would have asked for a new title. But, since Imic and Mooney both have new names, and we’ve started addressing Urist as “Dr. Urist” (it’s a mark of respect, especially given that she’s our only doctor, though she's started occasionally building things out of the leftover scraps...do I want to know?) I guess it’s fair that Kadol have a new name too.
She insists on “Airith”.
I have to admit, it sounds nice.
More practically, I’ve assigned Ushrir to help Airith make stone blocks. Those will be more useful than anything else she could make in the crafter’s, now that we each have our very cup. No more drinking straight out of barrels!!
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1 Slate 75Things had been relatively quiet since the logs-in-pond episode. Lotu had started digging out the northeast tower, tired of sleeping in the dirt and eating in the rain.
Who cares if it’s a longer walk for booze. I want a bed!Imic chopped trees here and there, Mooney continued to “patrol”, occasionally bringing back things that he claimed were edible, but that everyone else knew to be noxious weeds. Ever since the “poison brew”, no one was willing to try anything Mooney provided.
And at the rate he’s finding real food, we’ll all starve to death long before any caravans can reach us. Maybe I should have someone else help him.Mentally debating the pros and cons, Lotu headed up to find Airith and ask her opinion. Heading for the masonry, it took him a few minutes to realize that there was an unaccustomed sound.
Merriment? During working hours?And it wasn’t coming from the workshops.
Lotu quickly tracked the source down at the food tent.
“What’s going on here?”
Several faces turned to him, and absently he noted that only Airith seemed to be missing.
“Lotu! Come in and join us!”
“Why? What’s going on? Don’t you all have work to do?”
I know you do because I assigned most of it.“Come on, Lotu! This is the anniversary of our arrival. Two weeks ago today!” Cheers threatened to lift the tent off its moorings, as five wooden cups clinked together.
Well…that actually sounds like a good idea.“Airith!” Lotu stuck his head out of the tent and called across to the other side of the ramps. “Leave those blocks and come have a drink. The stone will still be there in an hour.”
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Excerpts from the journal of Lotu Sizzlediron, expedition leader.14 Slate 75Things have been tense lately. I don’t know what happened, but Mooney and Olin aren’t talking to each other. At all. Mooney seems absolutely furious, and is going out of his way to avoid her, while she just pretends that he doesn’t exist.
I don’t think I want to know.
On the plus side, I’ve finished digging out our long-term temporary quarters. And we’ve installed Olin’s beds.
Finally, we’ll be able to sleep safely underground, out of the rain. It never seems to stop and was starting to drive me bonkers. And everyone is getting short-tempered, not just Mooney and Olin.
We celebrated the move with another party, and I try not to think about our ever-dwindling booze supply. Mooney has finally started bringing in plants that look like they have some promise, but he still needs to figure out how to brew them. Preferably without killing us.
15 Slate 75I think we partied too long yesterday, my head is killing me. I haven’t had a hangover this bad since before we left home. But even so, I finally started digging out a stockpile room. Soon we’ll be able to get our supplies underground, and not have to depend on the flimsy tent anymore.
It’s starting to look rather tattered around the edges.
23 Slate 75I came above today and noticed something.
This is promising. The dogs can now be trained and we can get meat out of the rest if we’re desperate. Now, who should be the trainer…and what to train them for? I need to dig. I do some of my best thinking while digging, though for now I’m keeping all of that to myself.
1 Felsite 75Imic summoned us all to the food tent (the stockpile room is almost done). It turns out, he and Ushrir have decided to get engaged.
That explains all of the breaks they take, and why they keep disappearing together. I guess…it makes sense. We’re stuck here for the rest of our lives, far from our families and loved ones, so they’ve decided to start their own family. Maybe…
Maybe I should consider doing the same…
…
Nah.
5 Felsite 75
Ever since Imic announced his engagement, he and Ushrir have been all over each other. In public.
GET A ROOM!
I’m glad I’m underground so much. At least I’m spared the majority of those tasteless displays, but my poor comrades..
Still…it must be nice to be in love, there’s that smile of Ushrir’s when she looks at Imic...
Stop it! Enough daydreaming, I need to check that the stockpile room is done, then start working on the rest of the aquifer-breaching system.
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Topic: The Story of Atölasob (A Community Fort with an Export Challenge) (Read 62815 times)