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[Katsuun]

How did that ring of skulls get there? 
Nice job so far, its looking really good!

5th Felsite, 302

It's becoming quite crowded in the fortress now that we have twenty-one "colonists" here. I'll have to remind the Captain that we need more room tomorrow. And I have to make a self-note to stop calling everyone Captain.

The food stocks are going well, though I still wish we could get some variety. Perhaps I could make something out of the massive pile of corpses we have. Meat is always better with greens on the side! If we could access an underwater source of fresh water, I could make a safe harvest able farm. I'll have to make a note to figure out how that could be done...

Side Note- I'm getting my journal encrusted with green glass today!

-Kats Godennair

Is that planter in the first picture me?

[Duke of Nawn]

I'd like to lay claim on Kol Likotastod.

Name: Kol "KolrŒsen" Likotastod
Profession: Tanner/butcher
Personality: Unalterably cheerful with a twisted dash of off-kilter humor. Kinda likes kobolds, both alive and dead. They're his favorite thing to butcher and he finds their theivery and ambushing hilarious. Will happily explain, at length, that his nickname is a play on the fact that his dwarven name is phonetically very similar to the human for coal, so he calls himself Kolcoal, or wheelcoal, wheelrŒsen, KolrŒsen, in dwarven. He thinks himself very punny.
Probably here because he really, really annoyed some noble just by being himself.

[Iituem]

4th Haematite, 302

Now that madness about wooden rings and possession is over, we can get back to the real business of this outpost!  Trying to... mine water.  I've had the glassworks rebuilt and ordered them running at full capacity again.  Also, we have a ridiculous surplus of plump helmets, which need turning into wine.


7th Haematite, 302

Something very peculiar has happened here and I don't like it one bit.  All the land within that ring of skulls has gone dead - every shrub, even the young trees have just wilted and some have started rotting.  I've ordered the circle off-limits; I don't want to find out that it does the same thing to dwarves by having some misfortunate soul try and pick that ring up.




16th Haematite, 302

Building a small well to get water for Osrammistêm, but the salt permeation around here makes me wary.  I am going to order a small pump cistern and desalinator, quickly.  Furthermore a wagon from the human town to the north has arrived, our presence finally noticed.  They had better like bottles.

A goblin snatcher was seen, being crushed under the human wagon wheels.  This lot of clean-shaven numbskulls might not be so bad after all.

The humans drive a hard bargain, probably came away with over half and again what they traded to us in glass.  Not that glass is in any great shortage, and the leather and lumber supplies will be of great use to us.  Also, the elves apparently scratched the glass we tried to sell them, so that's all quite useless.  Maybe I'll toss it into the magma vent later.


18th Haematite, 302

Got around to conducting another interview today; Kol "Kolræsen" Likotasted, during which he kept making references to the fact that a dwarf named 'Puddlewebbed' had been tasked with attempting to engage in the wettest undertaking in history.  He was stretching the pun at the best of times.  Apparently he calls himself 'wheelcoal' out of some sort of elaborate lingual pun, rather than in homage to the great Wheelcoal clan of the Age of Foundings, before recorded history.  He does have something of an unhealthy obsession with kobolds, having expressed a desire for a pet one if we ever manage to capture one (something that I don't think has been managed in the history of dwarfkind, but everyone has to have their goal in life).  He assures me that he has no idea why he was sentenced to be here, but he did mention a very brief tenure as court entertainer to  Baron Enurz^vut, reputably the man with the least sense of humour in the Mountainhomes and the greatest collection of gibbets.

Apparently there had been a mime festival in town the night before and they were all out of gibbets.  I've assigned him to the abbatoir and tannery.




Events of the 25th Haematite, 302

Litast Cattenedëm mopped Sodel's brow, frowning gently as he sat by her bedside.  She had been in and out of consciousness for days now, croaking for water.  He had fed her as much soup as he was able, but she was in no state to take wine and surrounded as they were by water, the sea was no recourse for the sick.  He couldn't even mop her head with water, they had so little, that instead he tried to cool her temperature with plump helmet vinegar.  He glanced up from his ministrations at the opening of the door.

"Good evening," he offered politely, nodding a little.  Amongst the inmates, Mafol had gained some respect as a leader of faith, so when the rather gaunt dwarf entered Litast felt it appropriate to show a little deference.

"It's morning," Mafol pointed out, staying by the door.

"Is it?" Litast asked, frowning.  "My shift will be starting soon.  I'll have to leave her."

"The pair of you are close?" Mafol enquired.

"No, no," Litast answered, shaking his head.  "I never met her before she had the accident, kept to herself.  It's just... somebody had to help.  I don't think she had any friends.  Do you know her?"

"We have met," Mafol said, non-committally.  "Do you think she will last much longer?"  Litast shook his head.

"No.  She has maybe this morning.  Probably only an hour until it's too late, if that.  Is that why you're here?"

"Aye," Mafol admitted.  "They're blowing a coffin for her down in the glassworks.  She and I share a faith and I felt it necessary to give her final prayers."  He stepped forward, kneeling beside the bed.  "It would be best," he suggested, "if you got to your shift.  I am sure she would be grateful that someone stayed with her this long."  Litast nodded numbly, standing and exiting the room with a final glance.



As the glass portal closed, Mafol spared a hollow gaze to the dwarf below him.

"You never had much faith, Osrammistêm," he muttered coldly.  "I wonder if you had enough.  Tolis is not without mercy, however."  Mafol drew a small copper blade from beneath his tunic.  "Once these rites are conducted, you will be spared the withering of a prolonged death."



Litast trudged along the narrow hallways of the grotto, lit by tiny platters of rum-soaked driftwood nestled in alcoves in the wall.  It didn't seem fair to him that a life should be so easily lost, that the Warden could devote so much power to an enormous folly yet be unable to save a dwarf's life, one injured in his own service.  He cast the thought from his mind.  Another day of sand hauling ahead, perhaps working on the glass pier being set up at the beach.  As he trudged a little slower in anticipation of this, he heard the cry.

"The well!" it came.  "The well is finished!"

Litast did not even hear the end of the sentence, so fast was he rushing through the corridors toward the stockpiles.  Narrowly avoiding stepping on the colony's cat, he turned a corner and skidded on the packed black sand, scooping up a birchen bucket with one hand and pushing himself off the wall with the other as he began to run pell-mell for the bottleneck entrance to the grotto.

He rudely shoved aside a crowd of labourers, even going so far as to duck and roll beneath the skirt of the rather surprised Warden (who had just returned from logging) and leap over the colony's pet warthog, planting his feet firmly in the basalt rock and leaping for the grassy knoll above.  He clambered up to the green glass well and ran the bucket down into the stagnant pond beneath, yanking it back up full of stale (but drinkable) water before hauling back down as fast as he could through the hallways.

"Coming through!" he yelled as all manner of craftsdwarves barrelled out of the way.  The cat foolishly attempted to make a stand for her territory and received a sharp kick into a sandbank, expressing her displeasure in the form of a rather sharp hiss before padding away in search of mice.  He cornered the narrow path towards the cell block where Sodel was stationed, bucket hugged tightly to his chest to save it spilling, drew open the glass door and

[Iituem]

25th Haematite, 302

Fortuitously, the well has been completed.  One of the labourers, Cattenedëm, was able to get the first bucket of water to Osrammistêm, who has been waiting weeks for fresh water.  Our prayers are all with her for a speedy recovery.




Mafol carefully pulled the knife out from under the bed once Litast had left, sliding it back underneath his tunic.
"It looks like the goddess is not done with you yet, Sodel," he grunted, slipping out of the room and leaving the unconscious dwarf to rest.

[Iituem]

10th Malachite, 302

For a change, our food stores are actually overflowing!  The harvest has come in and proved exceedingly bountiful (something Kats is absurdly cheerful about, almost as much as glass).  There was a slight problem with Jools, who whilst being one of our more experienced planters (owing to doing nothing but farming) insisted we give a prayer for each and every bloody pigtail we pulled out of the dirt.  He babbled something about hideous tree-related vengeance from the soil if we didn't respect it and Glacies calmly knocked him unconscious whilst the rest of us got on with the harvest.


21st Malachite, 302

I sent our training wrestlers out to deal with some foxes interrupting construction today.  As one, they all decided they'd rather get a drink at the meeting hall.

I think I'm going to start issuing waterskins now.


24th Malachite, 302

These intruding animals are becoming a serious problem.  Whilst not harmful, they repeatedly disrupt construction by knocking over half-finished masonry, trying to eat the glass or otherwise generally making a nuisance of themselves.  I have placed an order for a number of weak traps to 'dissuade' such creatures from nearing the colony beach.


10th Galena, 302

Suddenly, we are almost out of drinks again.  It seems somebody has been using up most of our liquor in sauces.  I've ordered lavish cookery tabled until we can get our alcohol problem sorted.


1st Limestone, 302

Dee took me out to view his construction taking shape.  Right now it looks like a giant glass bedpan with the inner section cut out, but he assures me it will make a lot more sense once the pumps are in.  He insisted on a bit of a demonstration.




"Okay," Dee explained as be wound up the clockwork beneath the modified bucket Draconus had brought onto the beach for him.  "You know when you drain water slowly from a bucket, the water level slowly goes down, but when you drain it quickly you get a little whirlpool developing?"

"Yes," Cousteau murmured, watching the mechanised bucket with interest.

"Alright, that's to do with displacement of water.  There was a dwarf who figured out the theory whilst washing his beard, but that's an unrelated story.  Anyhow, you can get a similar effect if you spin water around really fast.  Watch."  He released the clockwork and a tiny turbine at the base of the bucket began to spin, causing the water to swirl, spraying the pair with seawater.  Cousteau coughed, unimpressed.

"Just watch," Dee insisted.  As they watched, the surface of the water bent downwards, forming a whirlpool that stretched down to the blades of the turbine.

"That bucket's eventually going to run out of water," Cousteau pointed out, "and the sea won't.  Plus, I don't think we can get a gigantic glass turbine down onto the sea bed and still power it."

"No, you're right there.  But the displacement is the important thing.  This was just easier to show you than sucking the water out through a tube or siphon, because the blades displace a lot of water, quickly.  The point is that my modified screw pumps, assuming Void and Userpay have them made correctly, displace a vast amount of water in a short period of time.  If they can run continuously, they are able to create sustained vortices in the water.  Air pockets, almost, stretching down from the surface.  The only problem before was the mammoth power requirements, which you have solved for me."

"I take it," Cousteau pointed out, glancing towards the long line of glass stretching out from the giant bedpan, upon which a number of curious wooden devices were suspended, "this has something to do with that monstrosity, then?"

"Indeed!" exclaimed Dee excitedly.  "You see, the tides are constantly coming in or going out, and when forced into a small enough channel, you can push all of that titanic force into a very small space, resulting in a positively-"

"So it's like a water-wheel?" Cousteau asked, cutting him short.

"No, nothing like that at all."  Dee looked puzzled.  "Why would you think that?"

"I... you know, I'm going to leave this in your capable hands, Dee.  Just make sure the sea doesn't come crashing down on us."

"If Void has it blown to the right specifications, boss, the seals -will- hold.  I've been over the designs seventeen times."

"What if they don't?" Cousteau demanded.

"Then," admitted Dee, taking a deep breath, "we won't have to worry about burials."  He held off Cousteau's stare for a few moments before reconsidering.  "Perhaps I should just look at some contingency designs."

"Perhaps you should."  Dee scampered back to the grotto, leaving Cousteau standing on the beach at the emerald machinery with a slightly concerned frown on her face.  There was still a lot to do.




10th Limestone, 302

Supply ship from the Mountainhomes arrived, along with Lokum.  I'm going to make him wait before I even talk to that bastard.  Ordered some of our food surplus (we actually have more food than glass since the real construction started) to be taken to the depot for trading.  Hopefully they brought all that lumber I requested, but even so I'm putting the glassworks on overdrive - we'll need a lot more trade goods if they have.

Lokum's guards are proving very useful again - they've shot an entire pack of wolves that wandered into the region whilst waiting for the wagons to unload.  Most of the pack was dealt with around the depot, but a pair of them attempted to flee along the coast.  One was physically lifted off the pier by a mace and the other tried to do battle on the edge of the glass machinery.  It turns out that it is easier to keep hold of very narrow surfaces with two legs over four.  Both wolves are currently resting at the bottom of the sea.


19th Limestone, 302

I had Kats take care of the brokering.  He is about as happy as a purring maggot after milking.  Apparently we now have bags of rock nuts, sweet pod seeds and even dimple cup spawn, just in case we suddenly decide we want to start a clothing industry.  I don't know why we even got the dimple cup spawn, we can't eat or drink dimple cups.  Kats, apparently, is not a very selective buyer - I think she just asked for everything on the wagons.  The merchants ended up with something like a 60% markup on top of the double prices we paid for most of it, but with their attempt to bring everything we asked they only ended up carrying one token piece of bauxite and tower cap.  In future, I should be a little more selective in my trade requests.

Dee informs me that the machine will be ready within the fortnight.




The events of the 28th of Limestone, 302


"Glad you could find the time to-" Lokum began, stopping when he noticed the human patiently sat against the floor in the office.

"Evening," the guild representative greeted him cheerfully.  "I'm afraid there's a queue."

"Cousteau!" Lokum named the dwarf at the desk accusatorily.  "You're supposed to deal with diplomatic meetings when they come up, not sit back for three months and hope they go away!"

"You know, you're right," Cousteau conceded.  "There is a queue.  So, 'Fanu', yes?  What did you want to talk about?"

"Just wanted to say, rather nice place you dwarves have dug out for yourself here."  The human smiled and picked up his hat, standing.  "Well, I'll be on my way then.  See you next year."  The two dwarves stared in bewilderment as the human guild representative casually left the office he had been waiting in for two whole months before suddenly turning on one another.

"You left me waiting for almost three weeks, Cousteau!  How could you do that?" Lokum demanded.

"How could you suddenly turn this place into a prison camp?" Cousteau snapped angrily, standing up.  "Without telling me, at that!"

"Listen," Lokum sighed.  "Cousteau.  This was the only way I could get you the manpower you needed.  No sane dwarf would come out here of his own volition and willingly work on the construction of some insane megalith for no pay and with barely any creature comforts whatsoever.  I did you a favour."

"I wanted skilled labour, Lokum!" Cousteau sighed, sitting back down and picking a couple of green glass tumblers from the table, pouring some rum into them.  "Glassblowers, architects, mechanics.  You sent me a soapmaker, by Tolis' beard!  Not to mention the Tolites, at that."

"I sent you what I could get," responded Lokum, taking one of the tumblers and knocking it back.  "You should be glad I didn't just send you glassblowers and mechanics, too.  Nobody back home expects this to work, Cousteau.  You can't delve water, let alone the sea until you go so far enough north that it freezes over."  He pointed the tumbler at her accusatorily.  "I didn't send you people to help you build some underwater palace, I sent you people to help you survive.  You could be here thirty, sixty years and never get even one of the crazy ideas your people have come up with to work, Cousteau.  I want my friend to be alive thirty years from now.  This isn't some grand project, this an exile."

Cousteau stared at her old friend stonily for a moment, then drained her glass.

"Come with me."



Cousteau stormed towards the machine, Lokum hurrying after her with a panicked look on his face.  Up ahead, Dee was surveying the project, notebook in one hand and slate in the other.  He turned to greet the Warden as she approached.

"Ah, Cousteau!" he began.  "We're just putting the final touches-"

"Get it working," Cousteau barked, her face a picture of grim determination.

"What?  But we just need to do a few final-"

"NOW!" she bellowed with the force of a drill instructor.  Dee froze for a moment in shock before dropping both notebook and slate and saluting with a slightly mad grin.

"Aye aye, Warden!" he cried, turning to the figures clambering across the device and giving a sharp whistle.  "Right, then!  Kolræsen, finish balancing the counterweights and get your arse clear off the structure!  Glacies, link up the gear assemblies!  Draconus, get that pump primed!"

"Aye, aye!" came a chorus of cries as dwarves began hurrying about to and fro in last second preparations.  The bulky former Hammerer bodily threw aside the heavy wolf corpse she had been carrying and hauled herself up the glass ladder into the workings of the machine.

"Cousteau," Lokum sighed as they watched the frenzy of activity, "what are you trying to prove here?  This is never going to work.  You can't delude yourself into thinking this mad-dwarf's contraption is actually going to do anything, can you?"

Cousteau remained silent, her eyes keenly on the lone figure in the belly of the best.  Draconus grasped hold of a pump handle with both hands and began heaving with all her might.  As she did so a small pillar of water began rising in a prominent central column of the machine, clearly visible through the glass.  Lokum's eyes travelled to it as the water rose higher and higher, eventually reaching a little red ring etched into the glass in redroot dye.

"And you're there!" Dee shouted.  "Now kill it and get the deeps out of there!"

Draconus gave the pump one final heave and pulled herself to the edge, diving into the water and swimming to shore.  The water level in the pipe held for a moment, then suddenly fell, the water draining away in moments.

"Look, Cousteau," Lokum began.

Two massive sheets of water burst from the sides of the machine's outer bowl, soaring into the air before crashing back down to earth.  The countless pumps of the machine all began to cycle in perfect synchronisation as the massive tide machine drained power from the ocean itself, the rush of water and rumble of machinery making it sound to all listening as if Dee had through some magic of science, engineering and dwarven madness summoned a storm and held it captive within the glass.

Lokum stood agasp at the sight for a moment, only to find Cousteau already walking away from him towards a hatchway in the beach nearby.  As she strode, she signalled to a nearby axedwarf.

"Tormy, you're with me," she commanded, kneeling and pulling open the access hatch.  Tormy dutifully followed suit as she descended into the tunnel below, as did Lokum seeing little other choice.  She sealed the hatchway above them and turned a corner, leading the three to a thick, frosted green glass door hatch.  Lokum noticed the carefully blown glass seals all around the portal and his eyes widened.

"What's behind that door?" he demanded.

"The ocean," Cousteau explained cooly as she reached for the hatch wheel.  In a rush of panic Lokum got there first, pressing his body against the hatch as if that would hold against the weight of the sea.

"Cousteau, I can't let you do this," he said with more than a hint of panic in his voice.  "You aren't thinking straight.  Now why don't we all just go back up to the surface and have a nice chat, okay?"
"Tormy, restrain him."

"What?  Hey, let go of me!" Lokum shouted as the heavy dwarf grabbed him bodily by both arms, dragging him back.  He continued to shout ineffectually as Cousteau reached for the hatch wheel once more.  "This is insane!  You're going to kill us all!"

Cousteau hesitated, for a moment.  Then she turned the wheel and flung back the door.



Stretching out before them, fully fifty feet in length and heralded by the thunder of the machine ahead, a corridor of solid air extended from the open end of the tunnel.  Walls of rushing water arched outwards on either side, curving up to the surface as if someone had reached down with a divine hand and simply scooped the sea in between away.  Salt and brine sprayed in every direction, and it felt as if there were a constant gale whipping at one's face, but the simple fact could not be denied.  It was there.

Cousteau turned to face Lokum, gesturing to the sight beyond.

"Look upon that!" she cried over the thunder of an ocean rent in twain, "and tell me now that I cannot delve the sea!"



28th Limestone, 302

First testing of pump machine successful.  Well received by all.



Activating the machine.


Priming the pump.


The sea turbines activate.


The machine in action.


Delving the Sea.

[Duke of Nawn]

Yeeee-hehehehehe. I approve.

Also, thank you for not leaving the Tolite scene cliffhung too long. I was biting my nails in anxiety, except I actually wasn't.

[Dogman]

Bwahaha! The great machine works! I imagine Dee is quite pleased with himself at this point. Crazy mechanical designs are only crazy if they don't work 

Great writing too. I could see the whole thing play out in my head.

[Glacies]

Post the schematics, please? One step closer to realizing the dream.

[Jools]

11th Malachite

Ungrateful scumbags. No respect for nature. All that work, the growing, the spreading of spores and seeds, the fertilisation of the soil, all the wonderful things that nature takes care of, and what thanks are given? What respect is accorded for all these wonderful natural processes that permit us to eat?

None at all, that's what. Instead a bunch of bumbling peasants just rip the harvest from the soil, roots and all, wasting half the food, and dashing off to try and brew it instead of preparing the ground for the next crop.

I think perhaps it's time to teach these fools a few things about nature. I'll find a couple of quiet, secluded corners of soil, and plant some of the seeds I reserve for special occasions... then, once the crop has been harvested, quietly ensure that these "herbs" get cooked in to meals for some of those... more deserving of an education on the power of nature.

[Iituem]

6th Sandstone, 302

One of the 'temporary' masons (much of the workforce has been reassigned to putting together the large pipe sections Dee has had the glassblowers working on), Litast Kadolnåzon, suddenly dropped her materials and exclaimed that she had just had a brilliant idea.  She immediately began making demands of her fellow dwarves for workspace and aid.  What is worrying is that they were compelled to help her, as if she were possessing of some unearthly charisma.  She has claimed the bonecarving shop as her personal workspace for the present, it seems, kicking poor Kumil out in the process.  Granted, I have had to reassign someone else to work on this, but given the frequency of mad projects succeeding around here I'm willing to play this out and see what happens.


8th Sandstone, 302

Litast has locked herself in the workshop with two solid blocks of basalt, a star sapphire Kats bought from the wagons and a solid ingot of electrum.  She's working like a dwarf possessed, except for some reason she's whistling throughout the entire thing.

It's a pretty catchy tune, at that.


13th Sandstone, 302

Five days without food or water later and she's emerged holding what you might call a basalt amulet, if you wanted to understate the impression it leaves.  Where one might expect the star sapphire to have centred the piece, she has instead carved the gem into a multitude of multifaceted rings, threading them into the sides of the piece.  Flaring spikes of electrum give the impression of solar flares and she has carved in frankly stunning engraving a pair of images on the front and back.  Granted, the images are of a rat weed and a cave spider, but I imagine there's some deep symbolism there.  She has dedicated the amulet Raztilesh in honour of Teshkad, the hoary marmot god of wealth, trade and the mountains.

Far more than just the stunning craftsmanship and materials of the artefact (which would place it easily in the mid ninety thousands, if you had to value a priceless object), it seems to shine with some inner power.  Something about this amulet just inspires you.  Mostly, it inspires you to extreme avarice, but it still inspires you.  Strongly considering building a plinth for it and putting it on display somewhere.  For now, Litast seems happy enough to keep it in her possession.  She comments that she feels as if she could carve virtually anything out of stone, but honestly doubts she could ever do this well again, so she is willing to continue acting as a mason rather than depleting our stone supply for now.


18th Sandstone, 302

Very nearly had a costly construction accident today.  Whilst working at the edge of the delve (the most unstable part) Litast (the same as in the previous entries) slipped and fell into the walls of water either side.  She fell and very nearly drowned before dragging herself to the sandy slopes and getting back into the air pocket.  We were fortunate this time, but perhaps I should take care in future not to attempt to extend our reach all the way to the end of the delve when constructing pipes.


21st Sandstone, 302

The danger of our work has been driven home today with the death of one of the inmates, the weaver Athel Godenothlest.  Whilst her body cannot be recovered from the depths (at least, not for some time) we have dedicated a small grave in her honour.  Litast the stonemaker and Draconus have been hit hardest, as she was perhaps the closest friend either had in this colony.  They held a small, sombre ceremony at the caves.  Still, the work must continue to make the pipe safe enough for others to work through.


23rd Sandstone, 302

After Ellestèrith nearly drowned attempting to install the same doorway, I have agreed to suspend construction on it until more supporting walls are in place to protect against the dangers of sudden floods from the waves there.



27th Sandstone, 302

In the midst of the tube construction difficulties, another prison ship has landed on the beach.  I have received a consignment of convicts and a prisoner manifest.  From the looks of things, this is a small drop consisting of two families and a trio of miscellaneous criminals.

Lòt Okiltirist, Stoneworker (f)
Minkot Kuletkùd, Tanner (f)
Inod Âmkikrost, Miner
Tosid Oddomstettad, Mechanic (f), mother of Domas & Ushat
Domas Besmarber, Child
Ushat Stukoseshon, Child (f)
Kib Oslanrithlut, - (f), wife & mother of below
Sazir Stelidmomuz, Fishery Worker, father of below, husband of above
Èzum Mengvod, Child
Melbil Cilobozor, Child (f)


28th Sandstone, 302

Rather than risk any more lives, I have moved the tube access hatch back about five feet to a less turbulent part of the delve.  The dwarves were able to complete construction of the hatch thereafter.  Once the wall sections are complete, we will cease pump operation and prepare for the next stage.


1st Moonstone, 302

After a generally uneventful month during which new fields were ploughed for sweet pod growth, one of the glassmakers, Urvad, has had a child.  Being the first newborn of the colony, various dwarves stopped by to give their good wishes to little Kûbuk.

This has led me to wonder exactly what the future of this place id going to hold, especially if dwarves are going to have children here.


18th Moonstone, 302

Another tragedy today, as one of the cooks, Shorast, was caught in a collapse of several levels of flooring due to an oversight in deconstruction of part of the former machine.  The only news to mitigate the disaster is that she fell into one of our access tunnels rather than the sea itself, so we will be able to recover her body for burial.

I looked over Shorast's record and asked around.  Whilst she was a passing acquaintance of many, she had no real friends.  It seems I will be entombing this unfortunate colonist myself.


22nd Moonstone, 302

As quickly as one life passes, another comes to be.  Litast Astarban, Glacies' wife, has given birth to a young daughter, Cog.  I have spoken to Glacies on the subject and he seems immensely proud, announcing a plan to have many more.  He mentioned something about getting them matching hats as well, which I did not press.  In celebration of this, they have organised a party at the mess hall.  I might attend; it would be an excellent chance to get to know more of the people in this colony.




Schematics will follow a little later, there is one more basic construction I need to fulfill before I can provide them.

[MercDraco]

Whoo yea, Manhandle a large dead wolf, man the pump and swam out now all my person needs is a noble for target practice...

keep up the good work

[Katsuun]

25th Moonstone, 302

As the end of another year draws ever closer, I can't help but feel I've been blessed, though the gods only know why (perhaps they have been hitting the barrel harder than we lately). Our project to begin construction into the sea worked! Just thinking about dwelling under the sea, protected by my glorious green glass, fills me with simultaneous feelings of awe and dread. The Captain- I mean Cousteau, really knows what shes doing, that much is sure now.

We have finally had our first childbirths, I was among those who congratulated Urvast, her husband, Litast, and Glacie. I can only imagine at the future of our fortress...

Side Note- I finally got my journal encrusted with glass!

[Iituem]

5th Opal, 302

Litast Cattenedëm started acting very withdrawn today.  He refuses to speak to anyone, myself especially, and has begun hanging around the wokrshops, picking up bits of spare material.  He keeps giving me furtive glances.  I've ordered him watched.


6th Opal, 302

Litast sat down at one of the workbenches today and started drawing sketches of various materials.  We have a slight issue regarding wood for his project, but that can be rectified easily enough.  The problem is getting hold of shell for him to work with.  I've asked everyone to search for turtles or beetles, or something with shells.  I've seen how badly this can go before.


10th Opal, 302

Time to make more ice skates.


26th Opal, 302

I have prepared funerary arrangements for Litast.  There is a certain limit that the dwarven mind can take, and soon he will reach it.  I can hope only that he will end himself swiftly off the pier rather than drag it out unduly.

Or worse, that he might go on a rampage.  Given his skill as a wrestler and militia training, I am highly concerned for the safety of others should he go berserk.  I have warned Glacies, although he is unhappy about the possibility of having to strike down a close friend.


20th Obsidian, 302

Peculiarly, a large group of jellyfish have stranded themselves on the shore.  I have no idea why.

Litast just snapped.  He has begun running around, babbling incoherently.  His proximity to the pier strangely only makes me glad that the ocean will soon grant him mercy.  Unfortunately, before killing himself he has locked himself in his room and started disrobing.


9th Granite, 303

Elves arrived today.  I have ordered the glass instruments we produced moved to the trade depot.  This year, perhaps, things may go a little more smoothly all around.

Met a dwarf by the name of Zasit today, an animal dissector.  There is no mention of him on the prison manifest, so I can only conclude that he was a stowaway on board the ships here.  I question why people would stow away here willingly, but he was unwilling to discuss his past at this time.


"I trust the glassware is to your satisfaction?" Cousteau enquired, smiling cheerfully.  With Tormy and Userpay standing by, axes clearly visible, negotiations had been over in less than twenty minutes.  The pair of Elven merchants had been a very great deal more polite this year.

"The glassware is fine," spoke up an elderly elf, striding over from the pack mules.  "But I did not come here for the trade goods.  I came here to see this place for myself."
"And you are?"

"I am Alu," the elderly elf intoned, placing his gnarled staff firmly on the black sand of the beach.  "The Druid."

"Well as you can see we try to avoid using lumber here," Cousteau reassured him, gesturing to the massive glass machinery off-shore.

"Which says nothing of the deforestation close to your camp," Alu snorted.  "However, your logging is within... acceptable limits.  No, I came to investigate a disturbance in the Force."

"The Force?  What in the gods' names are you talking about?"  Alu closed his eyes and raised his hand, as if seeing with senses other than vision.

"The Force is strong here," he pronounced, "but it has been thrown out of balance.  It cries out to me like a thousand screaming voices, protesting at abuse, yet I cannot see with elven eyes what you might have done to aggrieve it so."

"Well," Cousteau bluffed, knowing exactly what she might have done to aggrieve it so, "we have been fishing rather a lot.  Would that have upset the, uh, Force?"

"I don't imagine so," the elf murmured, troubled.  "Perhaps you are right, however.  I request, on the Force's behalf, a quota be imposed on your trawling."

"You drive a hard bargain, but if it helps the Force I suppose I must," Cousteau sighed.  The colony only had two fishermen, with fish ironically being the lowest food source in stock.  Meeting a fishing quota was unlikely to be a problem.

"Deceiver!" came a shrill voice from the grotto entrance.  Cousteau and the Druid turned to witness the sight of Litast, bare naked save his beard and pointing emphatically at the Warden.  "Your madness will cost us all!  I have foreseen the death that awaits you within these deeps, and only the gods can hope to save you from the wrath you have incurred!"

"Who is this prophet?" demanded the Druid.

"He was one of our workers, gone mad upon the failure of a project."

"I could not offer the gods tribute to save us," Litast cried, "so instead I shall make an offering of blood to the sea!"  He ran full pelt towards the pair, both of whom ducked out of the way as he leapt from the pier, striking the water with a thunderous clap.  Moments later, as the heavy force of the tides smashed his body against the jagged basalt rocks, the water reddened in acceptance of the offering.  Cousteau watched, distraught, as the elf gave her a narrow glance.

"One year," he promised, turning to leave.  "Then we will learn if there is a difference between madness and prophecy."

[Iituem]

From the Journal of Mafol Udiltekkud, Tolite

14th Granite, 303

News of Litast's vision have spread like wildfire throughout the grotto.  Dwarves are afraid, and when dwarves fear they turn to the gods for aid.  To the gods and to their priesthood.  I have promised my people that I shall succeed where Litast could not, that I shall wright a fitting offering to Tolis and beseech Her for protection against the forces Cousteau has so foolishly unleashed in this place.


16th Granite, 303

I have distanced myself from the fort, isolated in the caverns where we bury our dead.  I shall meditate and pray, without food or contact with others, until I have achieved the inspiration I seek.


12th Slate, 303

After three weeks of meditation and fasting, licking condensation from the walls for water, I have received a vision.  A vision of a blight across the lands and a hadnful of dwarves, young and hale in the midst of it all.  I was one of that few, and in my hand I held... I cannot say.  I do not know!  I can see it, but I cannot bring its name to my lips!  I must see it with my eyes again!  I must bring it into being!


17th Slate, 303

It was an amulet.  The amulet I have in my hands now is not as I saw it in my vision.  It is an imitation in crude basalt and gneiss.  I carved upon it an image, however, of the shield belogning to the speardwarf we saw upon entering this accursed place, and the kobold that stole it from us.

What the amulet might lack, however, I have gained.  A newfound strength, the vitality of youth, flows through my veins.  Those around me look up to me in wonder and fear at its power.  I know not yet, however, the true strength that this amulet holds.  Perhaps the goddess shall reveal it to me in time to come.

For now, I have erected another circle of skulls and placed it at its centre in honour of Tolis.  In all things, consider blight.


The diary of Cousteau Idenoshar

18th Slate, 303

Another of those circles has appeared, with an amulet at its centre.  I hear there are small cults forming within the prisoner population.  This is beginning to concern me greatly.


3rd Felsite, 303

Rather tragically, a prison ship arrived this morning, whereupon several of the new convicts were immediately savaged by a waiting black bear.  I have ordered a coffin prepared for Dumat Eralcatten.

Ast Udilolon, - (f), wife of the deceased Dumat Eralcatten.  Mother of Kol.
Kol Kelam, Child (f)
Sibrek Thusestkûbuk, Animal Caretaker
Cog Mengkatthir, Trapper (f), Wife of Kûbuk Guzurvad and mother of Iden Medtobudiz
Kûbuk Guzurvad, -, husband of the above
Ducim Avalzulban, Lye Maker (f)
Domas Gutidmeng, Miller (f)
Asmel Âmducim, Potash Maker (f)
Bëmbul Estunaban, Planter (f)
Erush Ulinghtob, - (f)
Aban Sôdatîs, Jeweller
Monom Anammosus, -
Olon Zuntîrum, Woodcrafter
Dodòk Vucarlocun, Hunter
Sarvesh Vúshnish, Trapper
Cerol Gimnish, Cook (f)
Ducim Zuntîrkeng, -
Mafol Kûbukzasit, Carpenter (f)
Sibrek Rulushalåth, Wood Burner
Nomal Lorbamstorlut, Ranger (f)
Erush Logemtunom, - (f)

Along with the prisoner manifest came a certificate recognising the camp's "colony" status (with 'penal' marked in brackets, admittedly) and a royal writ giving me certain powers as Warden.  Whilst I am not a particularly hard-ruling dwarf, I did notice the bismuth bronze bars we have had sitting around in the forge room doing nothing for the last couple of years, so I ordered a few goblets made from it.  Might as well put it to use.

[Katsuun]

Events of the 19th slate, as seen by Kats

Kats strolled down the corridor to the farms, humming a dwarven war chant under his breath. Strange happenings were occurring throughout the fortress, only yesterday, another "ritual" ring was reported to have been found. It was enough to unnerve any dwarf, especially since Litast's vision. Katsuun rounded the corner, lost in thought. "Who did it?" "Why is this happening?" "Will I ever get a "green-glass encrusted barrel to drink from?" These questions and more ran through Kats head as he rounded the corner.

He heard a sudden sound, like a whisper, coming from behind him. Kats swiveled on the spot, crying out.

There was nothing there. Only a discarded green glass bottle, its well-crafted body lying upended on the floor Kats went over to pick it up. He reached the spot where it was fallen and picked it up.

"Nothing suspicious here," Katsuun half-heartedly assured himself. He turned tail and ran for the safety of his farms. The bottle was still warm.


Am I allowed to do events? If I'm not I wont do it again, don't worry.