22nd Opal 505With only a little over a month until I get to nominate some poor schmuck...I mean a suitable candidate, obviously diary...to replace me, I am feeling much more comfortable in my role.
Ryukan, stoneworker extraordinaire, led us here and founded Doomhollow. There is little doubt that the founder will be remembered in the history books.
Reg, Metal Legend, known to his friends as TheFlame52 (nobody has told me why), dug deep enough to find the first adamantine veins and the magma sea which powers our magma forges, the source of our military might.
Doc, who occasionally goes by the name Travis Bickle, created detailed records and I feel is the mother of the fortress design we have today, and additionally the mother of our mighty military, which has proven critical to our survival in 503 and 505.
(She was also responsible for us having 18 prison cells, of which I have never seen more than 1 used...but we'll gloss over that!)
Staalo...Staalo masterminded both the identification and elimination of the Doomhollow vampire, and the slaying of Obin Taxedjade the dragon. With all due respect to my other predecessors, he is our best and brightest and the true hero of Doomhollow.
Eniteris steadied the ship after the tumultuous times of 503, set up automation of many tasks through our able manager Erin Quill, and is now a hero in the military in his own right.
At the beginning of the year when Eniteris surprisingly nominated me, KAAG the animal caretaker of no great note, to lead Doomhollow, the idea that I could ever belong in such a group of gifted dwarfs seemed fanciful.
But now, with our adamantine stocks more than tripled, our military sporting adamantine swords, our boat, our earring, our fairly clear corridors, our bedrooms all consistently kitted out, our engravings, our new barracks, dining room and museum and last but not least the UTTER PASTING we dished out to those pitiful greenskins from The Seductions of Grease, by Armok's neatly-trimmed fingernails, I do feel I belong.
Possibly last amongst equals. But not ludicrously out-of-place to be mentioned alongside them.
On a side-note, the two old-timers who 'warned' me (and by that, read 'punched') over the green-glass goblet debacle, have told me that the dwarfs would respect me more if I donned this old rutile hat Eniteris had stuffed into the coffer in my room. I tried it on...it seems to fit OK. I mean...I haven't noticed an increase in respect due to it, but it's keeping my head warm so what the hell?
To further improve my legacy...I mean Doomhollow's chance of survival, I have designated even more upward digging into the adamantine areas we have discovered. With our dedicated strand extractors at full speed, this should leave plenty of the blue stuff for my successor to do with as he or she sees fit.
23rd OpalOur military are all very proud of their weaponry, and even moreso, shields.
24th OpalScourge engraved a masterwork today.
By itself, this is not especially noteworthy. What is more noteworthy is that this may be the singular most-reported piece of news over the entire year. I have literally lost count of how many times I have read this on a daily report. It could be approaching 100...I wouldn't be at all shocked to find it is waaay over 100.
By Armok's pearly-white incisors, the dwarf is an absolute engraving machine!
25th OpalYes...very proud indeed!
1st ObsidianMy last month in charge begins. Time to tie up any loose ends now KAAG. And to start thinking of a successor. Everyone else has picked brilliantly, don't be the one who messes this up!
Time to decide what to do about the goblinite...
I decide to unforbid it all. I'll let our next overseer decide what to do with it. Melt it? Sell it? Find some other use for it? It's their call.
5th Obsidian Our resident beekeeper-without-a-bee, Id, is thowing yet another tantrum. I suspect there might not be any way back for her at this stage.
I see that despite being a beekeeper, she has Jewelery labours enabled. I decide to give her stonecrafting too, in the forlorn hope that keeping her busy, even if she is unskilled, might help her.
It's a long-shot diary, but by Armok's drunken stupors, nobody can say I didn't try!
6th ObsidianWe are back up to 325 green glass goblets. By Armok's bismuth bronze leggings, I don't believe in the curse, I don't I don't I don't...but I'll make doubly sure of it by churning the things out now!
We can always sell them, after all...
15th ObsidianAnother layer of the adamantine spire is now revealed and mined. I resolved today diary to try and get one more done before the end of the year.
Obsidian has been quiet on the whole so far. I do hope I am not tempting fate by writing that...
20th ObsidianSand collection has slowed behind goblet production due to a lack of bags. I order 30 more created.
23rd ObsidianThe next layer of adamantine is mined. Our next overseer will have plenty of the stuff to enhance Doomhollow's reputation, that's for Armoking sure!
28th ObsidianWhat a quiet month to end on! My time in charge is up.
Allow me to note some interesting things about Doomhollow as it stands today:
Citizens: 198 (none in, none out, during my year in charge. Not one death!)
Military squads: 4 (2 elite), 10 dwarf's each.
Adamantine wafers: 30
Raw adamantine ore: 128
Adamantine strands: 18
Prepared meals: 1,626
Drinks: 2,260 (15 varieties)
Green glass goblets: 340
Conditions for becoming mountain-home: 100%
Bordering on insane dwarfs: 1
Miserable dwarfs: 2
Unhappy dwarfs: 9
Epic boats: 1
Epic earrings: 1
View of 'upper main' level:
View of 'lower main' level:
General report on fortress:
Rather than choose a successor, I will open the floor to volunteers. The first dwarf who asks for the rutile hat, gets the rutile hat. Who wouldn't want to run Doomhollow? It is without doubt the military and cultural capital of not just the dwarven world...the entire world.
KAAG the overseer is no more. KAAG the animal caretaker is back.
By Armok's out-of-tune singing, it's been a blast.