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[Dogman]

After reading a lot of the great stories posted here I've decided to throw my +pig-tail hat+ into the ring and write one of my own. This was kind of an impromptu idea so keep in mind I'll be making it up as I go along. The basic story, however, is that of a fortress many thought existed, but upon discovery many adventurous migrants find nothing.  They decide that rather than risking the long trek back to the mountainhomes, they will instead carve out their own fortress in the immediate area as a bastion in the wilderness for any other migrant group that has fallen victim to the Ghost Fortress of Tongsrenown. Little do these stalwart pioneers know that an unknown force is lurking in the hills, watching their struggles and judging their worthyness.

I'll keep it in the style of a community fortress for those interested. First up, we have our enterprising Dwarves to consider.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Any requests for specific traits/Dwarves can be fulfilled by migrants if none of the Dwarves here have what you (the forum audience) wants. But now, on to the introduction.
_________________________

From the journal of Mistem Athellal:
1st of Timber, 375.

I don't know if we've been purposely swindled or some malign spirit is having a laugh with us. We followed the map we bought off the Merchant caravan back in Councilconstructs to the letter, but there's nothing here but more wilderness. They claimed a great Dwarven Fortress, Tongsrenown, was coming up from the hills like a gleaming beacon. All I see is more hills.

We've set up camp  at the base of a hill near a bend in the river. Tomorrow when everyone is rested I'll order some patrols into the surrounding wilderness. I pray to Lilar that we've only gone off track and missed the fortress...


The following was written in the mid-morning of the 2nd of Timber, 375.

I'm not sure whether to take this as bad news or good. Domas, the pump operator, found what looks to be a Dwarven built wall and bridge far to the southeast. However, he said it looks worn and abandoned...

I've decided to gather our band of 9 and investigate as a group. We've all heard plenty of tales of what likes to make its home in old Dwarven ruins. If we encounter anything, lets hope it will be put off by our numbers. I hope it is simply a ruse to discourage passing raiders.


The following was written in the late evening of the 2nd of Timber, 375.




Nothing but old rock and ruins. My worst fears have come to life. We searched the area around the old trade depot for whatever we could reclaim but it seems time has not been well to this place. Among the many bones scattered about we found a copper pick, and three tower-cap barrels. We found two doors against the cliff face, but try as we might we could not get them to budge.

I didn't want to stay there for long; with all those bones laying about, that place could be the den of some terrible creature. I didn't want to upset it by overstaying our welcome. Perhaps when we are stronger and have good food and alcohol in our bellies we will endeavor to return and break those doors down. But for now, we must get out of this oppressive heat.

11th of Timber, 375

I haven't had much time to write in the last few days. I've been busy enough just foraging for food, and keeping proper records would be too taxing on my time. I guess my lists will have to wait. Domas umarlogen, the pump operator that discovered the ruins, has taken upon himself to carve out the hill we set up camp nearby the first night. It won't be much, but it will be better than staying out here in this heat.

Foraging has yielded some results, however meager they may be. So far we've found enough Wild Strawberries on the west side of the brook for four meals, or some Stawberry Wine. We also found some Blade Weed and Hide Root, but I'm told they are only useful for dyes. I've ordered foraging on the east side of the brook as well. We had better come up with some more food soon. I don't want in-fighting to be the death of us.


The following was written in the late evening of the 11th of Timber, 375

I'm not sure yet what our fate is out here, but I know for certain we can't risk any more travels. Not only that, but on our journey I have heard many rumors of other groups making their way to this god-forsaken place. I wouldn't want them to fall into the same fate as ourselves. As such, I've decided that we should stay in this area for the time being, to make sure at the very least more Dwarves don't fall victim to the 'legend' of Tongsrenown.

I've had some time tonight to make a drawing of the camp, for posterity.
Attached is a crude drawing of the camp.

[Dogman]

Yes, double post, but I figured I'd get some momentum to this. Plenty of opurtunities people
__________________________


From the journal of Mistem Athellal:
18th of Timber, 375.



Turtles!  Alath Numbomrek saw a Turtle crawling along bank of the brook while foraging! It seems that this paltry little brook we've settled beside can bear fruits of a greener nature after all. Good; our meager collection of berries and weeds would not have provided for us for too long. The immediate area to the west and east of the camp has already been foraged clean with barely anything to show for it. Hopefully we'll get enough from this brook to feed ourselves until we can grow our own food.


22nd of Timber, 375

Domas finally struck some usable stone today. He's been digging a shaft and a small storeroom a few levels below the surface. He's never swung a pick in his life (odd for a Dwarf...) so he's carved out very little suitable stone for constructions. The first thing I've ordered to be built, as any Dwarf should, is a still. We have enough Wild Strawberries to brew a small batch of Strawberry wine, and hopefully with any luck we'll be able to cultivate a crop of the berry for next season. It's been weeks now without any good alcohol and I'm starting to sober up. I haven't felt this way since I accidentally locked myself behind a floodgate I was installing back at Pickshank.

We also need a fishery to clean those turtles and salmon we've been catching. That'll be next up as soon as the still is finished.

1st of Moonstone, 375

Winter is upon us. Not that it snows here. Thankfully it only means the heat won't be so bad these coming months. Domas has carved out a good sized room in the earth below The Hill (I've come to calling it that, it's the only small hill in the area), the stone from which has gone to construct a proper kitchen and a masonry workshop for Kel Oddomshethbeth.

I may have to revise my first estimation of this brook. I've ordered the entire crew to fish without rest and so far all we've drug up is a salmon and a couple of puny turtles. What's worse is that Usuth Mengnir, the Dwarf I've appointed to be our brewer, insists that we don't have any suitable barrels for her to use. I know we've got at least one empty barrel, but still she insists. Whats worse is she's been complaining about the lack of a well lately to gather water from. We wouldn't need a well if she would do her job and brew us some proper alcohol!

But I digress. The last few weeks have been hard on all of us. Thank goodness I have my journal to empty my thoughts into.

4th of Moonstone, 375

We. Have. Alcohol!

I took Useth off of the Brewers list and replaces her with Logem Isonkivish, the cook. Wht do you know, as soon as I did he went straight to the still and brewed up a barrel full of Starberry Wine. What's better is now we have the first few seeds needed to start a crop. Foraging for plants is so undwarvenly. However, it won't last the 9 of us for very long. We do have other barrels, but they are currently full of the plants we foraged earlier. I'll check my lists to see what we can do away with to free up some of those barrels.

a segment of the stock book of The Hill is stuck to the bottom of this page

[Cepheid]

Hmm.  This sounds interesting.  If it is not too much of a problem, can I have a dwarf?

Name:  Cepheid
Gender:  Female
Profession:  Military, any weapon.

Background:  Like the others that arrived before her, she was tricked out of all of her money into coming to this apparently abandoned and evil-filled fortress.  With nowhere to go, and no money left, she has decided to take up residence at the hill, and protect it from the wildlife and the nearby evil within the ruins.

Personality:  Kind of borderline insane, that is about all I can say.

[Dogman]

Yay. Interest

The Hill is severely lacking military dwarves. In fact, apart from that pick and the barrels, The Hill is lacking everything. I'll put your request on 'the list'. It might be a while before The Hill can produce weapons though, unless we get a lucky migrant wave. If anyone wants to claim a Dwarf (except Mistem) already present, feel free to do so.

This story comes with it's own challenges. I've never tried a hermit (well, a bare-bones) fort before, and I'll effectively have to manage two separate forts using the same stock screen. But I've said too much about that already.
__________________________


From the journal of Mistem Athellal:
7th of Moonstone, 375

Today marks the first planting of our first crop of wild strawberries. With any luck we will soon have entire fields ready to harvest. I’ve assigned Useth to the fields to make up for her failure as a brewer.

Domas has been busy below carving out a few rooms for us to take shelter in, and the rest of us have been busy fishing. It may be a slow process but we are catching fish frequently enough. We’ll have to relocate or expand our meager food stockpile soon. I think I’ll get Domas to carve out a second hall for that purpose; he’s swung that old pick enough to call himself a miner.

8th of Moonstone, 375

I’ve ordered all of that useless Hide Root and Blade Weed to be thrown out. That alone should free up another barrel for alcohol. This would all be much simpler with an axe, but we must make due with the 4 barrels we managed to salvage from the ruins to the southeast. And those rooms won’t be of much use until we get some wood to build beds with. I really hope a trained woodcutter is with the next group that gets sucked into this trap.

18th of Moonstone, 375

I awoke last night with a start. I could hear the howls of hungry wolves being carried on the wind. We’ve been lucky thus far to avoid any dangerous wildlife, but these wolves might reverse that luck. I’ve ordered Kel, the stoneworker, to construct a door for us, to keep us safe from the outside world while we sleep. With enough time and resources we’ll build a stockade around the immediate area; that should allow us to fish and farm outside while still keeping dangerous wildlife out.

We do have a small pile of bones from the fish we’ve been eating. I’ll see about building a bone crossbow and some arrows from them. Don’t ask me how I’ll manage that, but I’ll figure out a way. Bone might not be the best material to use, especially fish bone, but it’s all we have.

Domas struck a small cluster of semiprecious smoky quartz crystals while mining out our bedrooms. As pretty as they are I don’t really see the use of them at this point. You can’t make barrels or axes out of gems…

Attached to the back of this page is a folded scrap of parchment. The top half has a crude drawing labeled ‘Main Floor’, and the bottom half is labeled ‘Living Quarters’.

[Haven]

Would like to nab Kel if it's possible. Your fortress intrests me greatly.

[Dogman]

Great

Now that The Hill has a somewhat stable supply of food and alcohol there isn't much happening. Spring is just around the corner and hopefully a new migrant wave. Since I don't have a precise plan with this, don't be afraid to suggest a direction or two to take.

Now, a quick update.
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From the journal of Mistem Athellal:
4th of Opal, 375

Logem brewed up the last of the Rope Reed today. That’s not as bad as it sounds, however, seeing as we have enough seeds for small field of Rope Reed. Along with the Wild Strawberry patch that’s coming in nicely, it won’t be too long now before we have enough fermentable plants to have those barrels constantly full.

I talked to Kel today about building us some tables and chairs. A lot of us have been grumbling about the lack of them lately. We’re managing to keep our morale at a satisfactory level but small comforts like a good seat can go a long ways in this hole we’ve dug out for ourselves.

Oh, he mentioned that I could just call him “Haven”; seems that’s what he was known by back home.

I’ve also planned out an area on by the living quarters to be dug out so we can move the workshops to a safer area. The main level, between the food stores and all the workshops, has gotten pretty crowded.

15th of Opal, 375



The workshop alcoves have been carved out and we’ve moved all the food and alcohol down to the lower levels. Haven has also produced a number of fine tables and chairs for us to use. It will be good to finally be able to sit down to eat. Now if we could only go about getting us some beds...

It’s only mid-winter now but soon enough spring will come, and with that potentially more migrants. As such, it would be best if we set up our own trade depot outside to act as a beacon for any passing traders or migrants. The old one in the ruins is not suitable for the task, given its nature. Once Domas has mined out some extra rooms to house future migrants I’ll get Haven to work on a palisade around the perimeter. It’ll be slowly going at first, but I’ll get anyone who isn’t busy fishing to help him raise it.

[darksaiyan]

Make me the Blacksmith, Inod was his name is I'm not wrong.
Call him Darkie, and put an Axe in his hand so that he can do something in his spare time when not blacksmithing (woodcutting and perhaps axedwarf?).
Keep going with it, it's shaping up nicely.

Heh, now I see Inod's last name, Hatchetnames really asks for an axe When you have one, anyway.

[Dogman]

Done. Another quick update. This time, there's potential for something devious to happen. What should be Morul's fate? She's wandered off towards the ruins hunting mountain goats. Taking suggestions
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From the journal of Mistem Athellal:
17th of Opal

While expanding the storage area Domas struck a small cluster of native aluminum! A rare find indeed. We have more pressing matters to attend to, but any good Dwarf will rejoice upon discovering precious ore. Though this does bring to mind the question of what we are going to do about trade goods. If we are to receive a caravan in the spring or next autumn, what will we trade? Between the fishing and mining we haven’t had much time to construct anything valuable.

But maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here. The others have accepted my leadership well enough for now, I suspect because I was the one to step up and start issuing orders, but surely they’ll wish to return to their homes once spring comes? Months ago I decided that we would make an outpost here to help those that blunder into this trap, but I haven’t been completely honest with the others. I simply haven’t the time for long meetings and questions; in fact, despite the months we’ve been living together at The Hill, I honestly know little of my fellow Dwarves. All of us have been singly focused on inking out a living here that we haven’t talked enough with each other; Domas is always down below in a tunnel swinging his pick, Haven is always running to and fro collecting boulders to carve into furnature, and the rest of us have been so intensely focused on our fishing at the brook we haven’t the concentration to spare for thinks like talking and socializing.


(Every single one of them is like that)


23rd of Opal

I finished building the trade depot today, and a fine depot it is if I do say so myself. Now to tackle the issue of building proper trade goods. I wonder if Haven can carve some finer goods out of the aluminum ore Domas dug out earlier this week. It won’t be much, but hopefully it will be enough to buy us some much needed supplies from the next caravan that’s sure to come. In the mean time, Morul, the weaponsmith that cobbled together a fish bone crossbow, set off to test its effectiveness on the local wildlife. We haven’t heard the howl of wolves for some time so I assume it’s safe for her to venture away from The Hill. Although, I think I saw her head off to the southeast…

[darksaiyan]

Well, I hope she lives and brings some mountain goat meat to have a change in our diet...

[DwarfMan69]

Ill take a dwarf.

Name: John
Profession: Anything useless.
Custom profession name: "The demons"

[Dogman]

Well, I hope she lives and brings some mountain goat meat to have a change in our diet...

What? Fresh samon, rainbow trout, mussels, and garden fresh strawberries isn't good enough for you? A lot of people would consider those meals as a treat. Mountain goat on the other hand is rather pedestrian hehe

Ah, yes, it is still too early along in the story to introduce that part.

Ill take a dwarf.

Name: John
Profession: Anything useless.
Custom profession name: "The demons"

Next peasant that comes along, I'll give you it.

[darksaiyan]

Heh, I don't like sea food, it's more dwarvish to eat MEAT!

[Dogman]

I don't know how this got past me but I was surprised to discover that Kol, the soap maker, actually has a personality interest that states she loves taking charge and issuing orders... Whoops. Ah well, that just means I can add some tension between her and Mistem for leadership of The Hill.
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From the journal of Mistem Athellal:
24th of Opal, 375

The schematics for the inner palisade wall has drawn up. It will include The Hill in its entirety, including the outdoor farms and a good section of the brook to ensure we have a steady supply of food if we have to shut ourselves in. It will take most of our stone but I’m sure Domas won’t have trouble with providing us more. Speaking of Domas, he will have to do something about those slopes; if he can get away from mining out those extra rooms for a moment. I don’t think I’ve seen him outside longer than it takes to get a drink from the brook; that Dwarf probably has cave adaptation by now.

Now, how to seal ourselves off? Due to the trade depot we will have to leave a fairly wide gap in the walls, larger than what can be plugged by doors. If I remember my old Dwarven Engineering classes, a series of bridges connected to lever mechanisms allowing them to be raised can be just as effective as a wall in keeping out unwanted guests. I’ll draw up the plans later. Now we have a wall to build.

Tacked to the bottom of the page is a folded piece of parchment. The initial planning of a palisade wall is sketched onto it.




25th of Opal, 375

Morul returned to The Hill today with a freshly shot mountain goat slung over her shoulder. That goat will be a nice change from all the fish we’ve been having, plus its bones will produce enough bolts to last us awhile. I’ve chosen Kol to be our butcher, tanner, and leatherworker, seeing as how she was a soaper before this and thereby used to that horrid stench working with animal remains entails.

She went on and on about the effectiveness of her crossbow, stating that the first bolt she loosed from it tore out the goats throat. Good news, that is. Perhaps we can get Haven will build her a small tower to shoot from, should any unfriendly wildlife get too close to the fort.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 

The following was written in the late evening of the 25th of Opal

She used my room as the butchers! Kol decided that my room at the end of the hall would be the perfect place for the butchers shop and smear blood and animal chunks all over the place. Granted it was the only room large enough to hold a butchers shop and isolate it from the rest of us… I’ll claim the room two doors down the hall as my own, then. I believe there are still some semi-precious Smoky Quartz gems embedded into the walls and floor.

27th of Opal, 375


While out hunting near the ruins Morul noticed a glint in the rocks; she came back with a handful of steel bolts. They look like they can be reused easily enough. Of course that just means someone had to fire them in the first place, and considering the fact that she found them scattered about near the ruins, I don’t think it was because of mere target practice. As such I’ve ordered Morul so cease hunting to the southeast and stay closer to The Hill. It may mean less frequent meals of mountain goat biscuits, but at least she, and our only crossbow, will be safe. Due to their quality I’ve ordered the steel bolts be forbidden from being used in hunting or target shooting. We need to save those for when they really need to count.


3rd of Obsidian

The last month of winter is here. Shame, I’ve been growing accustomed to the cooler days. The wall is coming along, albeit at a slow pace. We’ve almost got the palisade surrounding the trade depot constructed and have started on the eastern section across the brook.



For some reason I’ll never know, Domas decided to trek all the way up the hills to the south to retrieve the corpse of a mountain goat Morul apparently slew but did not see fit to return. It must have tired him out something fierce though, as he collapsed into a deep slumber just mere steps in front of the trade depot.

[Marigi121]

i would like a dwarf

Name:Marigi Jones
Profession:Miner
Gender:Male

Backround:was a miner in the olden days of mountain tumbling(a sport in which you dig to send a mountain crashing down the more floors that cave in the higher you score.

[darksaiyan]

I like the palisade design. You should upload the map to markavian's site so we can see it in its roots. Hope it will last more than just a few years...