Early Summer, On the RoadThe dwarf looked at his fellow companions dourly. The majority had been
drafted nominated, like the administrator supposedly leading the expedition. A minority of others had volunteered, but they had clearly done so to avoid being separated from loved ones, rather than from a burning desire to live in exile.
Those poor sods. He thought.
Finderboards was doomed from the start. They've just refused to stop kicking yet.He shrugged the thought away. It wasn't his problem.
In. Do the job. Out. No one the wiser.
Excerpts from the journal of Lotu Sizzlediron, expedition leader.02 Hematite 82Rain. Wet. Building walls. Wet. Digging. Wet. Building walls. Wet. More rain.
I’m TIRED of being wet!08 Hematite 82Apparently the pumps aren’t keeping Airith busy enough anymore. She seems to be working on a new project.
I suppose she’ll tell me when she’s ready.
09 Hematite 82
Maybe they’ll have brought some metal stuff that we can turn into maces?
Just in case, I’ve sent all worn clothing, all of the bins full of random stuff, the elven cages and the wooden pump components to the dept. Mebzuth can replace the lost screws and pipes easily enough, especially with the rest of the summer to do it, and those are among the most expensive of our non-quota goods. We should be able to buy at least some metal stuff.
11 Hematite 82All of the turkey eggs are hatching at once. Poults are running around
everywhere. At least we have that cage we can put them in. It shouldn’t take too long.
.
.
.
I spoke too soon. The river of puppies is going to slow things down.
17 Hematite 82Now, unlike elves, humans are actually useful trade partners. Not only did they bring three maces and four weapons-grade bars (and made me pay through the nose for them), but they had almost two full wagon-loads of metal stuff. I brought NCommander in, as our resident metalworker, and she advised me on which things can be melted down for the most reclaimable metal. As a result, we have obtained several more picks and battle axes, an armful of trap components, and a small mountain of armor, all of which I promptly marked for melting.
It’s a good thing I remembered
not to add my pick to the melting pile. That would have been…unfortunate.
Before Trade: After Trade:
And as expected, we are over the import cap, but not by as much as I had feared. The prices for poorly-decorated items really gets inflated. At any rate, by the time Echoworked returns in the fall, we should have melted down enough stuff to bring us back under by a comfortable margin.
Now the most important question. Who to assign to melting?
18 Hematite 82Catten, our bowyer, has been doing nothing but hauling for the last several years, since Bomrek hasn’t demanded any more crossbows for a while. Remembering my own hauling days, I suggested she try her hand at smelting. Unsurprisingly, she jumped at the chance. Working with metal is, of course, one of the most respected fields of work. Who in their right mind would refuse?
Meanwhile, NCommander has started turning the new bars into more maces.
26 Hematite 82Should I be worried? Then again, Dr. Urist has always been…different.
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02 Malachite 82It was very late, and Uvash was in the common room savoring a final mug of peach cider before seeking his bed.
Not bad, not bad at all. It’s almost a decent substitute for raspberry wine.A movement on the northeast ramp drew him from his musings. Edzul shuffled in, clutching a meal of lungfish in one hand, and a cup of bayberry wine in the other. Slumping onto the chair opposite Uvash, Edzul stared morosely into his cup, mechanically chomping bites, without seeming to notice what he ate.
“Edzul? Edzul, are you OK?”
“Mmph?” Edzul looked up, then blinked twice. “Ye say sumpfun’?
“I asked if you’re OK?”
“Hmm. Tarred.”
“What?”
“Ah’m tairred.”
Tarred? Tairred? Tired? Oh, that makes more sense.“You have been running around lately. Anything I can help with?”
Edzul shook his head. “Jes’ th’ pot’sh.” He went to take another bite, only to latch onto his empty fingers. “Waaaahhhhh!” He jerked up, and stuck the offended digits into his mouth, trying to ease the sting.
“Edzul, my friend. You need some help.”
“They’re barely bleedin’! See? I don’ need Dr. Urist.”
“Not that kind of help. I was thinking more along the lines of helping with the potash.”
“No one else knows how.”
“So? You do, you can teach me. And even just having an extra pair of hands around the ashery should be a big help, right?”
Edzul stared, a spark of hope kindling in his brass-colored eyes. “You…you want to ‘elp me? For reals?”
“Yes, I do. Really.”
“Bu’ the carpen’ry…”
“Listen, not much is happening in the carpentry these days, and at the moment Lyra should be able to handle everything on her own. You need help.” Uvash reached an open hand across the table. “Whaddaya say? Get some sleep, and tomorrow you can start showing me the ropes.”
Edzul grabbed the offered hand, like a drowning man would a lifeline. Sniffing, he nodded quickly several times. “You’s a friend, ya know? A real friend.”
“Sure. Now, go get some sleep.” Uvash urged gently.
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Excerpts from the journal of Lotu Sizzlediron, expedition leader.05 Malachite 82I’d been working on shoring up the corner walls for a while, and finally decided it was a good time to take a break and
socialize. Arriving at the common room, I found Dr. Urist and Airith already there. Dr. Urist was telling a story.
The odd thing was, there were no children around.
Aren’t children supposed to love stories? I listened for a bit. Ah, nope, not surprised there are no kids. I’m going back to building my walls. I’m not interested in demons and darkness and curses from beyond the grave and murder and….
I got out of there. Fast.
12 Malachite 82Apparently, Airith and Dr. Urist have kindled a new friendship. They’re really getting along.
I almost feel left out. And Airith’s poetry sounds pretty good, though I don’t understand it. Something about pruning back diseased trees so that the young and healthy ones can grow? Huh?
15 Malachite 82
Watching the wagons start moving was quite a sight, and well worth the time off from work.
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17 Malachite 82Walking through the courtyard, Lotu was struck by the sight of Spriggans playing with the resident otter. “Uh, Spriggans?”
“What?” She responded, chuckling at the otter’s antics.
“Shouldn’t someone be keeping an eye on your furnace?”
“Eh? Oh, no. Only when it’s burning.”
“Well, why isn’t it burning? Edzul and Uvash need ash.”
“Can’t make ash without wood.”
“What do you mean we’re out of wood?!? There are all those trees I desi—“ Lotu reached the top of the ramparts, “—gnated.”
Oh.Grabbing the nearest axedwarf, who happened to be Udil, Lotu indicated the new trees to chop. “And any others you see that are less than thirty
bots from the walls.”
“Yessir!” Udil saluted and trotted off to fetch his woodcutting axe.
______________________________________________________________________________
Excerpts from the journal of Lotu Sizzlediron, expedition leader.24 Malachite 82Spriggans jumped on the first of the new logs, and her fire is burning voraciously once again, churning out ash as quickly as the haulers can bring her fresh wood.
05 Galena 82Now that Uvash has finished the second ashery, potash production has really started to pick up, though it’s still too soon to tell if it’ll be enough.
Mace production continues apace, with Catten barely managing to melt the imported items quickly enough to stay ahead of NCommander. The latter is averaging two or three maces every five days, and is certainly making up for the time lost earlier.
Can I afford to assign a dwarf permanently to the smelter? It would certainly end up making Imic, not to mention the rest of the militia, happy. I suppose it’ll depend on the next quota.
We need more dwarves. But according to the yearly caravan, word has spread wide, and no one wants to come live in a hole in the ground in the middle of the jungle, with not even a molehill in sight. Not to mention the whole “King Dodok’s Personal Slaves” thing.
I can’t say I blame them.
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18 Galena 82Dr. Urist was pacing down the hallway when a sharp cry broke into her throughs. She looked up in time to see a child slide to its, no
her, knees.
“Oh, you poor thing! Come here, I’ll make it all better.” Gathering the child into her arms, she started toward the hospital bed.
“Put down, put down! Me not hurt! Put me
down” Lokum Tangledattics squirmed and wriggled frantically.
Reaching the bed, Dr. Urist lowered the child, who promptly shot off the other side. “See? Me fine! Me play now!”
Without waiting for a response, she took to her heels, only wanting to get far away from the odd not-doctor-but-Wannabe-Engineer.
Dr. Urist looked after her, frowning.
But I need a speci patient.______________________________________________________________________________
Excerpt from the journal of Lotu Sizzlediron, expedition leader.28 Galena 82Fall approaches, and with it the yearly threat. But this year we’re in pretty good shape.
We’re definitely going to be able to manage the maces, so only potash is still questionable. I think we can count on at least eleven more bars by the end of limestone, which leaves a possible shortfall of nine. Well, we’ll have to see.
Current character list:
Olin (Lyra) Coppertargets (carpenter) -> Lyra (alive)
Catten Fencedlearned (bowyer) (alive)
Zutthan Paddledact (thresher/spinner/shearer) (alive)
Lorbam Clawdike (bookkeeper/manager/woodcrafter) (alive)
Minkot Bannerthrone (planter) (alive)
Mebzuth Cudgelleaves (glassmaker) (alive)
Ast (Lotu) Sizzlediron (miner)-> Dame de la Licorne (alive)
Kadol (Airith) Helmflashed (architect/mason) -> TheImmortalRyukan (alive)
Sodel Stockadecharmed (weaver/clothier) (alive)
Erib Razordrinkers (butcher/tanner/planter) (alive)
Logem Laborgirders (gem cutter/woodcrafter) (alive)
Olon Worshipglazed (leatherworker) (alive)
Ushrir (NCommander) Anvildimples (woodcrafter/animal trainer) -> NCommander (alive)
Vutok (Spriggans) Pleatsteels (wood burner) -> Spriggans (alive)
Ral Scalemerchant (brewer) (alive)
Uvash Toolsport (carpenter) (alive)
Mestthos Stafftown (furnace operator/papermaker) (alive)
Edzul Lanternnotched (cook) (alive)
Kogsak (Imic) Stokerblocked (axedwarf/woodcutter) -> Imic (alive)
Lokum Weaksilvers (hammer->axedwarf/woodcutter) (alive)
Udil Roomrouts (axedwarf/woodcutter) (alive)
Likot (Mooney) Tongsgirder (marksdwarf/herbalist) -> MoonyTheHuman (alive)
Besmar Minepink (marksdwarf/herbalist) (alive)
Ustuth Shieldfences (marksdwarf/herbalist) (alive)
Urist (Dr. Urist) Drilledhatchet (doctor/engineer) -> Gwolfski (alive)
Nil Goldenname (child) (alive)
Medtob Boatsmessiah (child) (alive)
Id Craftcrabs (child) (alive)
Tobul Cloisteredmoistened (child) (alive)
Litast Citystorm (child) (alive)
Solon Pageletter (child) (alive)
Stodir Hallesteems (child) (alive)
Endok Boltprairies (child) (alive)
Datan Paddledclutches (child) (alive)
Thikut Doorpattern (child) (alive)
Endok Glacierpaddle (child) (alive)
Rovod Claspedlearns (child) (alive)
Goden Keytooth (child) (alive)
Litast Factionmountains (baby) (alive)
Avuz Loverknife (baby) (alive)
Lokum Tangledattics (baby) (alive)
Tayldis (kobold thief)
Logem Echoworked (outpost liaison)
Dodok Charmedmirror (king)
Bomrek Whiptrailed (Swordgangs leader)
Meng Baldarrow (Swordgangs trader/Bomrek’s assistant)
Dastot Brimsrelics (dwarven caravan lead trader)
The Unknown (Dastot’s boss?)
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Topic: The Story of Atölasob (A Community Fort with an Export Challenge) (Read 62941 times)