Journal of Ryukan, 1st of Limestone 300
We began this new season here by surveying the land more closely. The geography seems to create a natural bowl shape into the ground just north of our base camp, which makes our job a bit easier.
A problem presents itself almost immediately however. If we were to drill into the volcano to fill up the bowl, even if we built walls connectng the mountains and filling the gaps, the top of the volcano towers over every other peak in the area and the pressure would overflow the surrounding land. It would cause much damage and also inflict heavy toll upon the mystical FPS.
As I contemplated this for a few days, I recieved word that our little expedition had been discovered by a Kobald scout just north of the wood stockpile, and while we chased it away, it will no doubt tell its brethren about us.
After that incedent, the next few days went by slowly as we continued felling the forest around the site and mining out the temporary basecamp. Then I was told that a group of dwarves had come, sent by the King himself to complement our workforce and boost early productivity, and was informed that one last Royal Company was to expected in the autumn.
With the extra hands, we managed to get started with digging away at the ground and soon we had marked the top layer of the magma reservoir and the miners began to channel away.
After what felt like a lifetime, the winds began to change and the trees had begun to turn into their rich colors. Autumn had come at last.
I have also come up with a solution to our problem. First, we'll have to build a Tower on the North West corner as the peak there is far lower than the walls, so we'll artificially extend it upward.
To counter the overflow problem, I have decided to simply place a tap on the volcano. We'll make it several Urists long and place a flood gate at the end. We'll use Fortifications to pierce the Magma pipe and then we'll simply pull the lever to shut it off. Using the might of Dwarven technological advancement, the lever will be wireless and inside the Vault itself.... though I hope no one forgets what it does....