And so the survivors of a world lost to evil, descended into an evil lost world. Within a few hours of forcing through the Lost Barbican, the group of survivors found a large cavern capable of housing the thousands of refugees. Within the day, the leaders of each faction had met and a plan to feed and protect their budding civilization was concocted. Soon the harsh realities of their new world world dawn on them.
The TunnelsTo the west duegar were spotted from the beginning, and as time went on, they grew bolder and bolder. The first few weeks occasional wanderers would be seen, mostly they seemed to be civilians going about their business. An embassary from the Locksmiths talked with one of them and got some general information on the duergar. Still, not one approached but their distrusting gaze often fell on the Blacksteel Axemen. Then about a two weeks ago armed patrols would routinely pass by the area in full armor wielding mauls and crossbows. The men grow worried as they see this as a display of force, and some feel if we do not respond, they will grow even bolder. Yet among them are those who disagree. We are new to the area and these duergar could have lived here for thousands of years. They argue, that they must see us as Invaders and that we must dispell that image. While no direct contact has been made, it seems we must make an decision soon or they may make the first move.
To the south, comes the first attack on the colony. Over the course of the month, half a dozen mole hounds have sniffed out our food stores and have tried to into the colony. Of course, when confronted, they would prefer to flee rather than fight. While none of the royal guard were lost, one received a rather nasty bite. The mole hounds don't seem particularly hostile, more like scavengers looking for a meal in the endless tunnels.
To the east the hunters press outwards into the tunnels. Over the course of the month their hunts are quite successful. A few large amphibian species we're discovered, including olms the size of horses and a particular kind of yellow cave frog with a delicious sweet meat. All and all they collected 1700 meat for your people. While hunting, they came across a mushroom cavern full of large mushrooms and moderately sized pools, but spores lay heavy in the air. Three hunters which ventured in for less than an hour came down with a horrible cough that left them bedridden for a week!
To the north, the militia had a rather uneventful watch. For the majority of the month, the tunnels there were empty. Until a few hours ago that is. A group of snowtrolls, often referred to as yetis, stumbled upon your cavern! It seems they have entered the caverns to avoid the Dark Moon. The militia there is awaiting orders on what to do.
As it seems, this first month has been rather eventful. We have a few issues that need addressing.
The first is the duegar. They are increasing their military presence nearby and this show of force does not bode well for us. We must either attack them, or send a diplomat to meet with their military encampment.
The second is the issue of these trolls. It seems there are about two hundred of them, perhaps three. The big beasts are wandering the caverns, likely in search of food. From the sounds of it, their leader, a two header by the name of Alkrak wants passage through our lands. This is rather dangerous for us. They stand as taller than a human, and are wider than the fattest dwarf. And that girth is mostly ice hardened muscle. If we allowed them passage, and they decided they would rather pillage our food stores, it would be much harder to fight them in the open area of our cavern than in the tunnels. They aren't bright creatures of course, but due to their strength, we must exercise caution when deciding how to proceed.
The Cavern
AshboughAshbough farm was set up rather quickly and efficiently. The stoic grey elves set about it’s construction with precision and efficiency, each one doing their task with little more than the thought that it must be done. Several different crops were grown in the fields so that improved farming techniques could be studied. Murkroot as a starchy bland tuber, which grows large and at a medium pace. Whisper melons grow rather swiftly, but produce a strange silky flesh, as if thousands of spiders had built their webs inside the gourd. Of course, the eastern and southern dwarves had carried plump helmet seeds with them. A traditional dwarven staple, used for wine making and eaten raw since the age of the second dwarves. Lastly there are cave berries, a wild berry bush with nutty berries. These were your four crops and they were set in efficient lines and tended to with regularity. However, about three weeks into the month, a large bulbous growth appeared in your field. It disrupted your lines and your farmers have never seen anything like it. It’s blue and cyan, and somewhat shiny, about the size of a pumpkin. It’s smooth, like several spheres sort of melted together. It has roots and is a plant or fungi of some sort, but your farmers turn to you to decide what to do with this strange growth.
LockpicksThe Locksmiths are a rough bunch, always have been, and always will be. They’re known to scrape and scrap their way through a tough world, and they do it well. But this is different. They aren’t soldiers and none are accustomed to the idea of living out the rest of their days in this barren cavern. So when they were drafted into a militia, fear and unrest began to rise within the faction. Luckily, within a week, the Pink Dragon Tavern was erected. A moderate tavern, given the lack of resources, but it was possibly the last tavern in the world, and that was enough for the colony. It was hugely successful, with lines leading out the door as downtrodden souls looked to dampen their somber future with a stiff drink. As the dwarven drinking songs echoed out into the cavern, spirits were raised and unrest fell.
Your “ambassador” goes to chit chat with a few duergar.
EarthstrikeYour two mines are set up without a hitch. The rocks of this cavern showed clear signs of being ore bearing, and within a day you located two iron viens. Within the week, your mines were erected and the ore began to flow.
You did a bit of research on the composition of metals in the area (6/4) and discovered a new kind of metal. Small iridescent flakes of a deep blue color could rarely be found mixed in the loose stone. You manage to find enough to identify the metal as blue opalaneum. When asked, any dwarven miner worth his pick can tell you stories of the metal. A rare deep metal, it will never melt no matter how much it is heated. No, blue opalaneum melts when it is cold. Only in the fiercest blizzards atop the highest mountains, with ice and lightning screaming through the air, only then were blue opalaneum blades forged. Only two races have ever used it to any great extent, the First Dwarves and the Snow Elves of Yjandarhar. Both of which, are long extinct and their histories eroded into rumor and speculation over the flow of time. Yet, if there are specks of it in the rubble here likely carried here on the water which formed this cavern, then a deposit must lurk somewhere nearby.
FreeholdersWhilest the Freeholder’s hunters are off on their hunt, the farmers get to work. Several different crops were grown in the fields so that improved farming techniques could be studied. Murkroot as a starchy bland tuber, which grows large and at a medium pace. Whisper melons grow rather swiftly, but produce a strange silky flesh, as if thousands of spiders had built their webs inside the gourd. Of course, the eastern and southern dwarves had carried plump helmet seeds with them. A traditional dwarven staple, used for wine making and eaten raw since the age of the second dwarves. Lastly there are cave berries, a wild berry bush with nutty berries. Through growing several different types of crops, you come to get a better understanding of subterranean farming, and feel as though you’re on the edge of breakthrough after collaborating with the Grey Elf farmers (3+6/10).
Though your farm is infested with a pest of unknown sort! They’re strange little beasts, the look like white spotted eagle rays, about the size of a human hand. They move across the cave floor with a wavy motion of their leathery “wings” gliding a few inches above the ground. Despite being able to go about a hundred yards with this strange gliding movement before needing to rest, it seems they cannot fly higher than this unless they climb up something to get an elevated start. Despite several being taken as pets, which the docile creatures seem moderately suited for, the vast majority of the swarm of them are pests, which affect your crop yields until dealt with.
BlacksteelWith the exception of the duegar presence increasing in the western tunnels, the Blacksteel civilians have a rather uneventful month. The forge is constructed and farming tools are created using the materials from the central stockpile. Though, on the third thursday of the month, one of your dwarves is struck by a mood! His name is Urgrist, he is a southern dwarf of golden skin and thick black hair. He demands two wood and six iron for what he calls, his masterpiece. He refuses to share the design or discuss what it is he desires to create with anyone, not even his close friends.
The HandsThe hands have a productive month. The artificery and the mage’s guild both set up their respective workshops and get to work. The mages work with the Freehold farmers on increasing yield, though it appears they have an infestation of some sort which damages yields. The artificers craft enough pistols to outfit an army with, these powerful arms would be far more deadly than a crossbow, if it weren’t for their accuracy issues.
As you research magic which would require people to subsist off less, you find it is more difficult a task than one may imagine. Without the proper amount of food, bodies tend to begin breaking down. You believe you can halt that process and stave off starvation, though it is a complicated spell and your mages would be hard pressed to affect more than a hundred or two individuals even once you fully develop the spell (7/20).
The Royal Bureaucamancers have dispanded the central stockpile system! While food is still distributed evenly, unless affected by a ruling from the Counsel of Lords, the lords now retain their creations and resources. Over the next month they will construct a market place for sale of items and resources, but for now, the Lords must trade amongst themselves.
Updating inventories will come later, but I figured I'd open discussion now. Mines each produced 100 iron. The hunters brought back 1700 food. The Ashborough farm brought in 2000 food after the mages helped. The Freeholder's farm only brought in 1400 food as the pests there affected the crops. I mostly wrote this update in my car while on a road trip, so if anything was missed or needs expanding on, let me know in the OOC.
Author
Topic: The Lost Barbican (IC) (Read 2192 times)