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[Vactor]

The Steelfang Project Annals
-Entry by: Vactor Castlemerchant, Expedition Leader
1st Hematite, 1051
Wealth: 8780
Drinks: 300?

We grudgingly mark the day on the calender.  I have ordered all craftswork to be halted until the barracks are constructed, we all do what we can to help.

I checked on Elfchopper's roofing progress today.  She informed me quite assuredly that it will take nine "elves" to roof each room.  With our sparse tree growth I have decided to allow Ricemastah to do the rest of the roofing in stone.  The wooden scaffolding will remain for now, as it will be easily removed if we require the elv..er wood.

[Vactor]

The Steelfang Project Annals
-Entry by: Vactor Castlemerchant, Expedition Leader
8th Malachite, 1051
Wealth: 10200?
Drinks: 300?

The walls for our barracks are finally complete, we managed to use all of the basalt from the quarry, so I have ordered Ricemastah to expand it. Once more stone is available I will have him roof the remaining rooms.  Elfchopper has crafted me a fine chair and desk to commemorate the occasion, suprisingly they bear no engravings of Dwarves striking down trees.

   

With our location relatively secure I have decided it is time to break open the seal on our secret orders. They turned out to be much more mundane than I had expected, 4 footings of steel to be dug directly into the bedrock.  The blueprint included some incredible load requirements, I have asked our Metalsmith, a dwarf by the name of Silu, to head up the project personally.  He has set to work excavating 2 of the sites.

 

[ April 17, 2008: Message edited by: Vactor ]

[Vactor]

-still have a one Miss Jeweltin, glassmaker extrodianaire up for grabs.

more updates to come tommorow!

I'll try to get more of a story going for Silu in the coming days, the project should open up more opportunites for that.

I've got some ideas for how the overseers will manage the workforce, but suggestions are welcome.  The secret project is planned out for the most part, with the promise of some grand feats of dwarven engineering.

One last note, the slaves will be treated more as an underclass, i'm not going to go out of my way to destroy them, they are the labor that will keep the project going, and as such are quite valuable to the overseers. They will be dwarves with personalities, plots, and motivations.  

That being said, i'm off to bed, I hope everyone has enjoyed my story so far.

[Jusal]

Hahaha, that makes for a great reading! Keep up the good work!

[DoctrZombie]

I'll take the remaining dwarf! Name her "Pingles"

[Vactor]

The Steelfang Project Annals
-Entry by: Vactor Castlemerchant, Expedition Leader
1st Limestone, 1051
Wealth: 15000?
Drinks: 300?

With this entry I happily note the first day of autumn.  3 additional dwellings have been roofed since last I wrote, while the remaining 3 are scheduled to be completed soon.

I continue to be taken aback by the other dwarves of our camp, our Glassmaker, an artisan by the name of Pingles Jeweltin swept into my office yesterday, her silk dress swooshing as she fluttered about my room.

"Oh Darling, we must do something about this dreadful room of yours! How ever can you stand such a base living arrangement? Oh no matter darling, we shall put up some delightful decorations for you. Why a nice window would certainly fit on this wall."

"Thank you Miss Jeweltin, but it's quite alr-"

"Nonsense! Oh-and darling, calling me Pingles is just perfect, no need for such sillyness.  Now THIS.."she said hovering over the desk and chair that Elfchopper had given me, "This is simply rubbish, imagine a Dwarf using wooden furniture, we simply must replace it.  A fine green glass office set would work splendidly, I'll make a note to get it to you with all haste."

"I'd really rather you didn't, you see they are gif-"

"Now, no need to be modest, a dwarf of your status mustn't be embarrassed of wealth. Now.."

-and so it continued for a good half an hour until i finally managed to shuffle her out the door convinced that I needed only a cabinet and chest.  

For all her show, Pingles seems to hate it here, I often see her sobbing by herself near the glass furnace.  I'm guessing an Urbanite lifestyle doesn't mesh well with our unforgiving surroundings.

Silu has completed the excavation of the first two sites, and has set up a smelter for eventual steel production. The digging of the other 2 sites has also begun.

Our dwarves have come across several dead warthogs near our camp, all with extensive burn marks.

We have also found patches of burnt earth, It seems we have some unfriendly company.

That is all for now, preparations are being made for the arrival of the caravan, which is due any day now.

[Vactor]

The Steelfang Project Annals
-Entry by: Vactor Castlemerchant, Expedition Leader
12th Limestone, 1051
Wealth: 16000?
Drinks: 300?

Pingles has delivered two fine pieces of furniture, and Ricemastah has begun work on building gates to our compound.

       

Dwarves were spotted approaching from the south in the early hours of the morning.

       

We traded our mechanisms and a bin of glass and stone crafts for a steel anvil, several packages of meat, all of the caravan's booze, and 2 bins of leather.  The merchants of the caravan balked at my initial 2 deals, so rather than risk offending them to the point of leaving I gave them a very good price for their goods

After trading I met with our project liason, he has instructed us to prepare to receive large shipments of bauxite and bituminous coal next year.  He also seemed surprised to find out we had no water source, and has promised to send additional alcohol as well.

He presented me with a list of secondary requests from Migrurfeb, slightly embarrassed that fish was one of the items.  The list has all the marks of a military campaign, foodstuffs, arms and armor.

       

They also brought news from abroad, the Oceanic Arrows forward army column had departed Migrurfeb in early summer.  When the traders had left a few months later there had been reports of skirmishes against The Lean Wire's border patrol.  The second and third army columns were both at Migrurfeb preparing for a spring campaign.  Fourth, fifth, and sixth columns were still far to the east fighting in the goblin wars.

       

We bid farewell, and returned to our tasks.

[ April 17, 2008: Message edited by: Vactor ]

[Vactor]

First wave of migrants came sooner than expected:

Roster:

? Steelbrew, (F) -Carpenter
? Oakenlantern (M) -Animal Trainer/Leatherworker
(deceased) Rakust Daubwire (F) -Craftsdwarf
? Boltschuck (M) -Bone Carver
? Claspedmuscles (M) -Clothier
(deceased) Olon Lengthgolds (F) -Lyemaker

[ April 20, 2008: Message edited by: Vactor ]

[Vactor]

The Steelfang Project Annals
-Entry by: Vactor Castlemerchant, Expedition Leader
7th Timber, 1051
Wealth: 19000?
Drinks: 400?

At last! Our labor force arrived today.  A weary military scout appeared at our gates early this morning with 5 chained craftsdwarves in tow.  He told us that he had been part of a much larger group that was ambushed by goblins a few weeks ago.  The goblins had liberated many of their prisoners, and killed most of the guards.  He thought it likely that they have followed him here.  I will be giving additional consideration to our compound's defenses.

I have assigned our workforce to do the seemingly endless amount of hauling required, which will allow our skilled laborers to focus on their work.  The scout has elected to stay with us, and has built himself a leatherworkshop.

[Vactor]

The Steelfang Project Annals
-Entry by: Vactor Castlemerchant, Expedition Leader
10th Timber, 1051
Wealth: 19000?
Drinks: 400?

A slave went missing yesterday while gathering wood for Elfchopper,

   

   

She found her today, a smoldering pile of dwarf in a slurry of dwarf chunks:

   

Until further notice I have forbid anyone go near the magma vent.  A new area on the west side of our compound will house the magma forges, as I no longer feel comfortable with our dwarves working on the lip of the vent.

[ April 19, 2008: Message edited by: Vactor ]

[Vactor]

The Steelfang Project Annals
-Entry by: Vactor Castlemerchant, Expedition Leader
28th Moonstone, 1051
Wealth: 26300?
Drinks: 300?

Winter has come unnoticed, the sun still high in the sky continues to blast down upon us.  Chaos has descended upon the compound.  A pair of kobold theives were making their way into our camp, completely unseen, until Pingles actually stepped on one.  Pingles screamed in fright, the unlucky kobold screamed in pain, held in place by Pingles' pointy heel grinding into his tail, as his companion darted away.  The screams alerted the rest of us, but as we ran to assist Pingles, all of us stopped dead in our tracks to see Pingles unleashing all of her frustrations upon the kobold, in a flurry of fists, feet and fur, nine months of pent up anger was poured out upon the kobold's body.  

       

As her final blow was lain, she seemed to notice us, a smile spread across her face "Oh, hello darlings!"
More than slightly disturbing.

A few hours later I was working on the northern wall to the new magmaforge area, when Strife stumbled past me into the compound, burn marks covering his torso.  As I turned to look where he had come from, I saw a fireball hurtling towards me.  I jumped and spun, feeling the heat singe the tips of my beard, narrowly avoiding the fireball's path.

       
Imp Shoots!

As I landed I saw the fireball continuing on its course...

The slave was lugging a green glass cabinet into the compound.  I guess I had never expressly forbidden them from retrieving furniture from the magma vent, so the slaves thought it better to get them than risk punishment.

Rakust Daubwire raised her head to see who was shouting at her this time, it was the camp's leader, only he wasn't scolding her this time.  As the fireball sped towards her she tried to react, but the green glass cabinet on her back held her in place.  The fireball hit her squarely in the face...freedom...

       
Imp Scores!

Fearing for my life I ran for the gate, if I could get inside i could close it and seal off the fire imp.

Nearly there I stumbled and fell into the dirt, rolling over in time to see the fire imp bounding towards me.  As I scrambled backwards I knew this would be the end.  Just as the imp caught up to me it paused, seconds later Elfchopper appeared, leaping over my head, axe gleaming, with a wardog on either side of her.  Her axe arced through the air, the first swing severing the imp's left leg, the second lopping off its head, body parts seemed to fly in every direction.

       

But Elfchopper was not finished yet, as their companion fell, a pair of imps I hadn't noticed took flight with Elfchopper in hot pursuit.  As she caught up to the first imp it cowered, holding up its hand to shield itself from Elfchopper's blow.  The hand and head were both cleft from its body, sent hurtling through the air.

       

The third imp seemed resigned to his fate after both his companions had fallen, sitting with its hands raised in prayer, Elfchopper's battle axe seperated both lower arms as it once again removed the head from the imp.  With her work done, she promptly fell asleep, her body remarkably unscathed.

       

We have cared for Strife the best we can manage.  We all hope he can recover from his wounds, but without water to treat it, we do not have high hopes.

       

With all that I've dealt with today I said nothing when I checked up on Ricemastah's progress in the quarry.

   

[ April 19, 2008: Message edited by: Vactor ]

[Vactor]

If anyone would like to see the epic battle that took place in the previous entry here you go:

Elfchopper saves the day!

[Jusal]

Now that's some dwarven spirit! Poor elve- Erm... imps!

Creepily enough Elfchopper is apparently "easily moved for pity".

[Vactor]

Apparently pity means something quite different to someone who worships Fenglel the Demon of Poisons.

And sorry Strife, I don't really know what happened to you, you just turned up in your bed with a broken upper body.  I looked back at my recordings and exports and the only clue I have is an export that shows you dangerously near an imp at the same time Pingles was pounding on Bleelgis.  I can only suppose you got too near while having no job to cancel.  

I also can't stop finding it very amusing that the fireball meant for my avatar narrowly missed and one shot a characterless passerby, leaving me whole and healthy.

Quick question, i've noticed that my updates are a bit on the spartan side of character development, i guess i've been hurrying through the first stages of setting up the fort because i'd like to get to my original construction goals.

this has left some updates not as well written as i'd like, (usually with only one quick proofread after writing off the cuff) but has allowed me to get them up more quickly.

so -
Come-on, we want all the dirt.
Nah, what you've been doing is right on.
Sheesh, enough with the dribble, get on with things.

[Vactor]

Litast Hoodwound lay hidden within a patch of scrub-brush.  His once fine clothes were tattered and stained, his beard a matted mess.  Before him lay a small valley which he had observed throughout the day.  The compound on the far side bustled with activity as the sun sank below the horizon.

He had lived like this for almost 6 months now, scavenging for food, his only source of drink what he was able to suss from the succulent leaved plants and cacti in the area.

The journey here had been difficult,  but was nothing compared to what he had endured since arriving.  He had at least been well supplied when he was trailing the wagon.  His superiors had outfitted him only for the journey, expecting the expedition to create their base near a water supply.  His fishing pole proved to be useful in creating snare traps at the very least.

An owl hooted from just outside the scrub-brush. Litast hooted back, and a shadowy figure emerged from the grasses, a hand thrust forward holding a scroll.  

"A transcript of their designs, take this with all speed to Ducim Baldbolted in Everhammers," a voice growled from deep inside the figure's darkened hood, as a second arm presented a waterskin of Dwarven Rum, and a package of meat.

He had met with his contact several times since arriving, but was still unnerved by these meetings, there was something about this dwarf that didn't sit well with him.  Perhaps it was that he had never seen their face, and did not know which of the handful of dwarves he observed during the day it was that would meet him in the twilight hour.  He would no longer be bothered by such thoughts, as he had a new destination, Everhammers, the capital of The Lean Wires.  

As the figure disappeared into the tall grasses once more, Litast wasted no time in leaving.  He gathered his few possessions, scuttled his camp, wrote one last note in his journal and set off to the northwest.

His spirits were running high as he snuck his way through the undergrowth, after a few miles he thought it safe to reveal himself and set off at a trot across the savanna.

In his excitement it was far too late when he noticed the moonlight glint off the axe as it arced towards his neck.

[ April 21, 2008: Message edited by: Vactor ]