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[Paulus Fahlstrom]

3 Granite Early spring

It'd been only three days since they arrived and things were going well apace. Kolok had the enjoyable task of cutting lumber around the entrances to their home, or what would be their home after Ragnar and Paulus finished excavating that copper vein they'd found shortly after digging in. The breeze coming off the savanna managed to cool him sufficiently for it to be somewhat comfortable, though the heat was already more than he'd even had back at Dorenemal. Hefting his axe again he approaced a sizeable acacia tree that was to be his next job, when he noticed some movement to the south out of the corner of his eye. Curious he quietly moved that direction, trying to be inconspicuous, lest it be something dangerous.
 
He was wise to do so as a few hundred lengths away he spied nearly a half dozen little... rat like things only bigger scattering before a rather large and apparently hungry cave spider. The spider was nearly the size of a pony colt, far larger than any he'd seen before. It's grey-brown body was covered with dust and though it's quarry was much smaller than it they were evenly matched for speed. The little prarie-dog dodged this way and that but eventually was trapped by a string of web that the spider shot at it, allowing the spider to get close enough.

It was then that it occurred to Kolok that there was a ready food source if he could drive the spider off. The spider was hunting down another of the diminuative creatures when Kolok began stalking towards it, trying to catch it by surprise as the hunter became hunted. His shoes rustled softly on the sandy soil as he approached and the spider somehow must have sensed him coming, whirling on him in a flash and spewing a mighty mess of webbing that caught Kolok by surprise. He had the fortune of only catching a small amount of it that he wiped off quickly as the spider approached and as the spider rushed in to bite it's larger meal he swung hard, connecting with it's body and sending it flying a good stone's throw away.

Three other prarie dogs lay on the ground quivering in the hot sun as Kolok approached the scene. It was with considerable chagrin that he was careless enough to not notice the shifting sand to one side as a second spider sprang up in ambush, shooting webbing at him and entangling an arm. He tore his arm free and flailed wildly, causing the spider to miss him and a swift overhead chop brought the creature crashing to the ground as well.

Stepping carefully now he entered the spider's lair and was no longer surprised when three more spiders sprang up in ambush, one popping out of the sand next to him. It was a grim reminder of the dangers of the land as he brought his axe down quickly stilling the creature close to him. Twin bursts of webbing caught him in the torso and face and he clawed it of as quickly as he could. He managed to do so in time to see one of the spiders approaching from the front trying to pin him beneath one of it's hairy legs. It missed as he stumbled back.

The force of the blow from behind told him that he was in trouble. The spider had jumped into him knocking him flat and managed a swift bite to his neck. He could feel a numbness sweeping through him but knew that if he gave in there was little chance for him. Pushing himself up he knocked off the spider and in a fury began sweeping about him wildly with the axe. He caught one spider in the leg, severing it cleanly and causing it to withdraw a pace or two. The other he twirled to meet as it advanced and a quick pair of blows cut it in two. The wounded spider, too, he met with equal brutality and quickly dispatched it.

Kolok stood there panting for a few minutes before he surveyed the area to make sure there were not more of them and that it would be clear to retrieve the corpses. Careful to avoid the webbing he made his way back to camp to tell everyone, a deep purple bruise already beginning to form on the back of his neck where he'd been bit.

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Journal of Paulus Fahlstrom

We've only been here three days and already things have gotten interesting. Kolok spied a large cave spider ambush to the south of him and went to investigate. He managed to kill five of the ghastly spiders by himself, an impressive feat. I shuddered when I saw the creatures, all spindly legs and hairy bodies. Nasty things... spiders. At least I wasn't the only one. Apparently Crush shares my aversion for them.

Pete says that Kolok is lucky. Their venom is usually deadly and he's fortunate that his constitution is good enough to take a bite like that without more serious consequences. His bite marks look terrible though. Still, according to Pete the spiders are a delicacy for the humans, who, appalling as it may be, even eat the smaller versions of the cave spiders. Sometimes raw, though supposedly there's a trick to bite them before they bite you. Crush was asked to set up a butchery, tanning workshop and leatherworks so we could process the kills, but he refused to touch the spiders which left Oddbodd to do it as the rest of us were busy elsewhere.

Unfortunately it took us so long to process things that two of the prarie-dog corpses rotted before we could get to them. Still, though. It's a considerable amount of meat provided I can get myself to eat large cave spider. The flesh takes on a soft whitish color and consistency not unlike lobster when cooked, so perhaps I'll just think of that should it become necessary. I think I'll stick with other foods for now.

((Serious... a large cave spider ambush... never seen one of these before. Had they been giants I'd have stayed well enough away. Oh, and five kills for Kolok. Apparently the spiders provide a decent amount of meat each (10 I think) as well as leather which got processed into armor for us by Crush. Large cave spider chitin armor... fun stuff.))

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

9th of Slate Journal Entry

Ever since the first to-do between Kolok and the spiders it's been quiet around here. It's still accursedly hot, but I think I'm getting used to that. We've got most of the main workshops up already and our temporary shelter taken care of. But best of all is that we've now got tables and chairs, as well as beds for us! It'll be nice to not have to sleep on the ground with the vermin. I woke up the other day with a lizard sitting on my forehead.

Not the best way to wake up.

Particularly when the first thing that comes to mind is 'Ah! Spiders!'.

Thankfully for me my reflexes are good. Unfortunately for the lizard my bed is close to the wall.

It's funny around here, like a strange combination of untamed lands. We get Fluffy wambler and fairies and pixies (annoying beard-pulling little pests) and such as well as other animals. Just now we have a small herd of gazelle grazing outside our entrance. We're doing fine for food, so there's no need to disturb them at the moment, but I've had a few crossbows and some bone bolts made just in case.

21st of Slate

I've been below working on the entrance to our true fortress with Ragnar and hadn't been up for a while. I just noticed that our little mudholes are finally drying up. The ground in them is beginning to crack except at the very bottom where it's still moist. Much of the grass and vegetation is starting to take on a brown look as well and the horizon has become golden, with patches of dark green that are the trees. It's remarkably pretty, and I find I like this new land of ours.

Just to the northeast the vegetation has not gone brown just yet, which seems strange to me, but Pete thinks it might be some sort of underground water source that keeps things just a little moister than the rest of the area. According to her it'll probably dry up when summer hits and it get's hot.

I kinda hoped she was joking, but that's not her way. I thought this was hot.

5th of Felsite

I came up to tell the others that we've struck some good minerals. In fact our new central chamber is almost half and half, bauxite and limestone. Both of which are pretty, minerologically speaking of course. And the white and red colors will likely remain the color motif of our fortress here. I think the butcheries will have to be made out of bauxite, that way it won't look as dirty.

While I was above Pete took the opportunity to show me a new animal I'd never seen. There were four of them grazing just east of our encampment. They were large and grey, as tall as a large horse but easily two or three times as thick, with heavy thick legs and horns. Or rather a large horn on their nose and a smaller one just back from it. The face looks kind of like a pig, but the size is impressive. Apparently they're called Rhinocerauses RhinocerusesRhinos. I'll have to ask Pete about the proper spelling later. They look dangerous but Pete says they're usually calm unless surprised. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

12th of Hematite Summer

Work continues of course. Ragnar and I have the main chamber nearly complete now and will begin branching out.

Our Metalworks are also now up and running, with a Wood furnace, smelter and Forge up near the north entrance. Oddbodd's begun processing the copper ore into bars and Pete's even hammered out some basic copper armor. Shield, Plate, Greaves and helm. That's all we had enough for at the time, but it's a sight better than not having any should we need it.

A winged horse was also spotted in the air a little ways up the hill-side. I'd only heard of such creatures in myth and legend but now I realize that those stories had to come from somewhere. I just never thought I'd see a Pegasus for myself. For a minute I wished we had Lord Rovod here. The idea of trying to catch, tame and war train a flying steed would certainly appeal to him.

Speaking of home I've had some time to talk to Ragnar as we worked below. She'd changed considerably since I left Dorenemal, and I suspect that much of that came with the destruction of our former home and the loss of her lover, Delen. I suspect she blames herself to a certain degree for not being with him at the end. I had once thought that she was fond of fairies, but now that she's actually seen one I don't think she's as impressed with them as in her childhood imagination. Still, the works been good for her and her melancholy hopefully won't last forever.

Fre I suspect misses Aardvark as well, but the King had requested that several of our metalsmiths stay and help equip remaining soldiers before heading out. She keeps busy, helping Crush and Pete gather food, or turning it into better food and drink. She's had Pete bang out a copper skillet to cook things in as well as a small copper knife to work with, so hopefully things will be looking up in our diet.

23rd of Hematite

The curse of civilizations everywhere have begun showing up, and in numbers. Within days of each other Fre nearly bumped into a Tigerman thief that was trying to sneak in and Kolok was startled by a Lizardman thief that appeared around a tree he was about to cut. Unfortunately both managed to escape, but it served as a warning to us. We've put up traps at our entrance now. That should at least serve as some sort of line of defense. Unfortunately the sandy soil doesn't serve well for other forms of traps.

(Below is a sketch of their initial settlement)

((And yes, I'm going to avoid the mass-trap-insanity defensive lines. Sure, I can make my fort impregnable by having a hundred traps, but that's no fun. So in the future I'm limiting it to at most two strings of cage traps and one of weapon traps. Mostly to cut down on annoyances like thieves and babysnatchers. Our true defenses will be more pragmatic as well as physical (fortified entrance and dwarven might!).))

[sneakey pete]

((Large cave spiders!! what mod are you using for this paulus?))

[sonerohi]

A really cool sounding one, obviously.

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

Giant entrance?
Mmmm, I can tell my engineer'll love it here.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

((I'm using Mayday's Legendary Lands actually. I just happen to be on at a savage location, which makes things much more interesting.))

12th of Malachite Autumn

Ragnar wiped the sweat and dust off her forehead with her sleeve, darkening the material slightly in the process. Working below was hot work, and she'd taken a few odd jobs up top as well, helping out Oddbodd by providing fuel in the form of Charcoal. Everything just seemed hot. It was a relief to be in the shade though, and out of the sun. Almost all of them had gotten tanner in their time here, and Kolok looked like he was beginning to turn native, almost the same shade as Pete herself. In fact, all but Paulus, who spent more time below than she, were darker than herself. Heading over to the back of the enclosure to get a drink she was about to plunk herself down for a break when Fre called out from the kitchen/campfire in the middle of the room.

"Oi, Ragnar. I found some plants I thought you might like and brewed you up a batch o' somethin' good. It's three barrels to your left."

Ragnar tiredly nodded, the heat up here sapping her will to converse more than normal. Setting it up horizontal on a neighboring barrel she tapped it and drew a stone mug-full of the clear liquid. She sniffed it and it was almost odorless, with a slight hint of earth that was more than just the everpresent dust. Taking a swig her eyes closed as she savored the drink.

"Ah, thank ye lass. 'S been to long sin' I had me sum 'o dat good stuff. Nice ta ken it can be made here, aye?"

Fre grinned slightly. It had been Ragnar's favorite brew back home, but the differences were present, even here, that simply couldn't be erased. Both of them got a slightly wistful smile as they thought about their mutual past. Then Ragnar grimaced and downed the mug in one swift gulp.

"Well, best I's be gettin' b'low."

Some times it was better not to reflect. Remembering could be painful.
Paulus came up a short time later and Fre ambushed him too, offering a smallish biscuit she'd made.

"Here. Try this." She said, handing it to him. He gave it a sniff then took a bite, a slow smile spreading across his face. "What'd ya think?"

He finished the rest off in a measured bite, savoring the flavor before answering. "Oh, that's good. I've not had that kind of food since we left home. That's truly exceptional. Better than your seed-cakes at Dorenemal I'd say, or at least some of them."

She nodded and smiled appreciatively.

"That's good then. I was worried the flavor might be off."

She began heading back to the kitchen but couldn't help throwing a quip over her shoulder as she retreated.

"I was wondering what to do with the large cave spider tallow and it seemed to go well with the wild strawberry seed flour."

She didn't need to turn to see him gag slightly and shudder as he turned and headed for the barrels of drink.

[Flintus10]

Was my guy badly injured by the cave spiders? Or was it just a couple of torn wounds. This new fort is looking great keep up the wonderful writing

[Ultra-Towerdude]

Hi. Does the Community Fortress mean that you can ask for a named dwarf? If so i would like one.
Name: Der Kartoffel
Prof: Farmer
Gender: Male

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

I found the original profile for Oddbod:


Oddbod "The Odd" was born about eighty years ago in the Great Brass City of Olonkulet, or Gearabbeys. This place was the absolute pinnacle of dwarven engineering, rumored to have an enormous golem powered by a fire in its belly.
Unfortunately, the fortress fell when the machines in the city went wrong, halting the production of brass, tea, crumpets and coal, so the population went quite insane overnight.
Young Oddbod managed to escape, but to this day he is rather quiet about the machines of his home.
He does like brass though.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

((Thanks Maggarg. I've seen both of his mentions in the forums before. I'll try to work things in appropriately.

The Potato will be included in the next wave on immigrants. In german of course.

And unfortunately Kolok did receive a neck wound (lt. brown) which means he'll not be allowed to spar. Should you want him in the military again I'll have to do his training the hard way.))

10th of Limestone
The dusty wagons rolled along the edge of the mountains, the lead wagon carrying the liason from the King in these new lands. Not that there was much to liase with. It was then that he spotted the slight curl of smoke ahead, and the  squat shape of workshops bordering the feet of the mountain range. With the sparse undergrowth of the savanna, travel had been easy once they got out of the mountain ranges to the east. It had been, either that way, or to come from west and return that way as well, a longer trip with few truly useful stops. A waste of travel for merchants. At least by going east they would be able to cover those civilized enough to trade with them.
They pulled up outside the stone enclosure housing the trade depot, just passed the metalworks, already in operation. The liason was somewhat impressed. A functioning metalworks would be very beneficial in these times.
He looked down at his paperwork, his contact was one 'Pete', supposedly a native and of the seven dwarves only two looked like natives, and only one of those dressed like one. And she was female. He sighed and stepped down as the merchants continued into the depot to trade.
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Merchants have arrived. Apparently some of the first group that came across on Tosid's orders. To hear them tell about it their group split, with seven leaving for the north to establish the mountainhome of Shellhelms and the others staying at Saintorb, the capitol of Zilirezum, the Eternal Hames, and Pete's people. From there they'd gone over trade routes and set out, first to the north, then here to the south. They were a welcome sight.
I knew we'd be needing something should merchants show up and so I'd been working on some stonecrafts for the last month or two. I'd tried my hand at it back at Dorenemal and found I enjoyed it, so even though I was out of practice it gave us some bartering material. We had to toss the large cave spider chitin armor on the pile as well, much to Kolok's dismay, but we need the goods we're getting. Or rather, they would be very useful for us.
The merchants brought a bar each of Black Bronze, Zinc and Steel. I was particularly pleased with the steel. They brought no drink, having run out and filled their barrels with water instead some ways back. But we did get some food, including several barrels of Plump helmets that Fre can make into wine, as well as some seeds and a bin or two of leather. We also managed to obtain a steel shield, well worth it in exchange for the cave spider armor.
We'll be enjoying the company of others from our home for the first time in nearly two years, and it brings back memories, both good and bad, of our first year at Dorenemal. Due largely to Kolok's skill with an axe, our food situation is much better off than it was then.
Apparently Shellhelms, our official capitol for the time being is far, far to the north in climate more akin to our old one. The area is largely uninhabited which may have been the reason for the choice, and the fortress is close to the sea, another good choice. Perhaps for that reason it seems strange to the others that we've chosen this location, when there were other suitable sites near the first. I've remained quiet about this for so long. I want to tell the others, and I've confidence in their decision to remain here, should they know what we truly are building our home on.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

5th of Sandstone Journal Entry

A screech filled our little enclosure today as a batman swooped down and alighted on the sand just outside of it. Foolishly the creature walked into our passageways and was caught in a cage trap near the entrance. The denizens of the chasm haven't truly bothered us much as of yet, but if such is to happen more often I fear we may have to deal with them as we are able.

While the rest of us were working apparently Oddbodd took some initiative and swiped our bar of zinc that we got from the caravan. It's gone now, but with it and some copper he has made a couple of bars of brass, which he says is vastly superior. I suspect it may be for other reasons, as nothing has been done with it yet, but we'll have to see. I may need to keep an eye on him as well. He's not of our people and may not understand our traditions, though he seems firmly rooted in his own.

12th of Sandstone

The merchants have departed now, and as they were leaving their guards caught two tigermen thieves trying to sneak up on either them or us. They've been dispatched. A third was discovered having wandered into our traps as well. It's a good thing they're there.

This prompted Ragnar to use the bar of steel we had to make himself an axe. I'd have had Pete do it, but their style of weaponry is slightly different from ours and Ragnar wanted something she was familiar with. In any case, it's nice to have two of them around now, just in case.

1st of Moonstone Early Winter

Pete called me out to the hillside above our camp in the early morning light today to look at something. High above us in the hills I could barely make out to be what looked like a giant insect and a giraffe fighting. It was a strange sight, and didn't last long as the insect turned to flee.

"We'll have to move below now, Paulus."

I turned.

"Hmm... why's that?"

"That was an insectman. One of the swarm that lives in the south here. If one of them knows where we are, the others are sure to follow. And they don't just steal things. They're a relatively advanced species, capable of much thought. They hunt intelligently. We should move below. We're too exposed here."

That gave me some pause. If Pete was worried about it we could accomodate. Though we weren't quite ready down below there was room enough.

"All right. I'll start giving orders to move things below. I'd happen eventually. Now's a good time. I just hope any of our kin can find us."

"If you leave the walls up they'll see the signs. It's pretty obvious when you know what you're looking for."

I nodded. This was certainly a different place than what we were used to. I almost missed the little kobolds. They were tame compared to the other's we've seen.

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

2nd Obsidian Late Winter

It hasn't gotten that much cooler here. Reminds me of home, except in reverse. There it never got warm, here it never cools.

We've spent most of the winter moving everything below and setting up a secondary line of cage traps, as a precaution. At one point, after we'd gotten all our goods below already a small herd of rhinos, about four of them, took exception to our workshops. Perhaps it was the sun glinting off of a piece of metal or perhaps it was the smell of the butchery, tanner and leatherworks that enraged them. It's hard to say. But they proceeded to charge our shops and destroy them, knocking them over by ramming them before trampling them underfoot. We decided it was best to just leave them be. We'd have had to dismantle the shops at some point anyways.

Oddbodd was aboveground for some reason today and was chased by a batman all over our little area. Until the batman cornered him and began to claw him. Our little compatriot calmly put it in a handlock and broke two of it's fingers before escaping and fleeing back to safety. The batman did not pursue. Perhaps he's learned a lesson from this.

((I never realized rhinos were so ... tough. heh. I actually saved and played with them at one point, sending us all up with weapons and armor to 'hunt' them. Bad, bad, bad idea. Didn't even wound one of them before we were all dead. That's the other reason we'll be moving below. Simply too dangerous up above. Though they don't normally go beserk, I've had a herd of them within feet of our smithy while Pete and Oddbodd were working and they didn't do anything. Funny.))

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

1st of Granite

The seven dwarves gathered below around the clustering of tables next to their newly reconstructed Trade depot, which took on an eerie hue as the torchlight flickered across the rough but deep red bauxite surface. They were all dirty, and tired but the move was complete. They were now firmly entrenched below-ground and that was where they knew they would be safer. The large stockpile of barrels of drink lay in two neat rows behind them, though large piles of rock still lay scattered haphazard about the place.

On their west side lay the black gaping maw of the unfinished entrance, along with five blood-red doors, leading to the butcheries, fishery and garbage dumps. Behind them lay another five red doors, leading to the workshops and the special projects stockpiles. Or at least once they had cleared the rubble they would belong there. A few workshops lay to the south, not somewhat obscured by the dark and right behind the depot lay the massive stone staircase that led both up and down.

Down would be the eventual mines. Up lay the intended dining hall and barracks, though they too were freshly mined and full of stone. And above them was a large section of cleared earth, nearing the surface but not breaking it. The compacted sand had given way easily and been shored up where needed to allow for a large and ample room which would be their storage. Directly above the dining hall would be the new food storage area and bordering that the farms, kitchen, stills and food processing area.

Plans had already been laid for a smithing area beneath the special storage area and shops, with access from above for storage of ore, bars and supplies. A second offshoot from the farms area would house the animal handling sections. But those had yet to be started and now was not the time.

Paulus stood, wearily but intent, and cleared his throat.

"Well, in our tradition I'd like to say a few things at this time. I think we've done well in setting this place up so far and I'd like to thank everyone for the work that has been done. I have no idea how long till we can expect refugees from home to arrive, nor of how frequent they are to be.

In particular I'd like to thank Pete for her outstanding and much needed help and advice in getting us all here hale and hearty."

He raised a stone mug towards her.

"To Pete, without whom things would be very, very different for us, I have no doubt. We've little enough to give ye at this time, Pete, but to you we extend our hand. You've aided us well in our time of need and have not shirked labor. For all you've done we're happy to call you kin. Should you or yours ever need the help of the Fahlstrom clan, feel free to ask and we'll seek to repay a portion of our debt to you."

Paulus raised the mug to his lips and drank deep, before sitting again. Others could have their say now should they wish it, or bring up concerns or ideas as they saw fit.



((Feel free to comment or post in character (or out of) as you see fit. After the forge area I'll likely begin work on clearing a residential section for us to live in, but that'll still take a while, and I may go prospecting for some ore to work real quick before then. I'd like to find something other than copper to use for trade and armor.))

[Paulus Fahlstrom]

((Invitation to post anything you'd like to say is still open of course.))

15th of Granite

A pair of elves arrived today with mules in tow. They claimed to be from the nation of Micelifidale Nami. It was strange seeing them. They look somewhat physically similar to those we knew at home, but somehow ... more primitive. They were deeply tanned, and their upturned eyes struck me as slightly different. But they seemed friendly, if perhaps a little overly curious of our new home. Pete, in particular seemed agitated about their arrival, but held back strangely while they were here.

Their trade goods were strange as well. I've never known elves to bring metal bars, yet they had a bar of lead and a bar of silver. In addition to those we got some cages and barrels. With tamed lizard and dog inclusive. They were happy to take our stone crafts. And strangely enough some of our prarie dog leather goods. I'd have bought some of their cloth as well, but we've been so busy with moving below that I haven't had time to make more.

8th of Slate

Crush decided to hold a party in our dining hall. Pete and I attended but the others were busy. It was more of a nice casual get together. During it Pete actually came out and told me more about the 'elves' that live in the area. Apparently they are very different from the ones I used to know. According to her they live off the land to an extreme. Though they do make goods and weapons and such, they also do other things. Like hunt sentient creatures for food. Had I known they were cannibals and head-hunters I might have treated them differently, but Pete said it was for the best. They take any sign of weakness very poorly, and dissent is something they look for. If they had thought we'd be suitable food for them they'd have arrived silently and simply attacked us.

He also said that the many of the trade goods they sell are obtained from lost merchants of other races that never made it through their lands. Whether they died because of the elves or because of the wild lands in which they live is never truly known, though many believe that it's the elves themselves that attack them for consumption. Perhaps because of those rumors few are willing to trade with them outright.

[Maggarg - Eater of chicke]

*A short handwritten notice*
Dear Grag Fahlstrom,

I have decided against suggesting anything, as it would be quite unreasonable of me to do so, especially when the area is not lent to the kind of plans that I am used to, as we lack a large source of water, and as you know, I was predominantly a fluid engineer.
I would, however, like to request a kitchen.
I am sure morale would improve if we were supplied with scones, biscuits and crumpets.
It is such a shame we cannot trade for tea in these parts, especially since the disaster.

Yrs, Oddbod Godenromlan.