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[Jakeypoo]

Oh snap! I haven't checked this thread for a few days >.> my bad, calculus is kicking my butt.

I've PM'd Lucid now though.

[Lucid_Archon]

The first season of the rule of Lucid Archon, the Bitch Queen of the bottom of the world.

1st Granite: Finally, I've gained true control of this fortress. Time to set things

right. Firstly, we need to raise a real army! Weapons, armor! But for that... we need a

forge more suited to such a pursuit. And we just happen to have a lake of magma for just

such an occasion. It will take a bit of work to prepare, but soon, our army will be the

envy of the mountainhome itself!

18th Granite: It's... finished? In a fashion, but the lake isn't quite full enough to

consistantly power the workshops. But the power is becoming more and more consistant. I

think it will be at a usable capacity by the end of the season.

27 Granite: Why are there so many animal children. They're crowding up the halls.  Let's

see if we can do something about this...

2nd Slate: The cutest little kitten just walked up to me.... I can't get rid of any of

them. Back to the work on the forge.

5th Slate: Sodel Atheltolis has become our second champion. Of tumbling around with

sweaty dwarves. What do you want, a parade?

25th Slate: 111 is our new population. What a headache. I think the pole might just

collapse under our weight. The forge is up and running now. The gears of war are

churning!

1st Felsite: A woodcrafter has been taken by inspiration. Of course, it would be to much

to ask for such perfect vision to be gifted to a perfect leader. I think I'd prefer the

pleb dead than to waste a log.

3rd Felsite: I gave him the log. I'm not ruthless enough to be a noble....

7th Felsite: And I got a flute. Whee. I'm going to put it in my room.

13th Felsite: A weapon squad as been made, with one representative from each discipline.

It's a sort of test, a model for the future.

24th Felsite: I've decided that after the year is over, I'm gone. And I'm leaving a

little suprise for the sucker who takes my spot...

1st Hematite: This position is driving me mad, slowly...

More is to be posted tomorrow evening. Like, the rest.

[Lucid_Archon]

4th Hematite: Kazindir is dead. Vaporized my magma. I should have been more careful, but... I'll get to work on his monument. *sigh*

1st Malachite: I finished upgrading the tomb he already had, gave him some cages and stuffed them with animals.

7th Malachite: Apparently, some metalcrafter has been elected as mayor, and ordered up... earrings. That's not even difficult to do. What is her problem?

14th Malachite: I've become bored. I think I'm going to draft up a suicide squad, and throw them at the chasm.

26 Malachite: Apparently, we are far too fearsome to bring in new blood. Bah, cowards.

24th Galena: Finally, something happened. A carpenter has been taken with inspiration. I hope I can bring myself to let him die this time...

26th Galena: No, this is going to be good... two logs, slate, iron bars, and he's getting more...

18th Limestone: The dwarven caravan has arrived. I was getting bored.

20th Sandstone: The poor guy went nuts. Couldn't find the cloth room right under his nose. It's a bit sad, really.

14th Timber: The only news this month is that we have two new champions and that one of the weapon squad dwarves has become a spearmaster. None of the others have made any progress, always complaining of some sort of injury. Perhaps I should have been more picky with the dwarves we trusted.

20th Moonstone: Another Champion. And some carpenter died. Apparently of thirst, but since he was a few feet from the dining room, I can't fathom how.

1st Opal: Another champion. And I have a mystery to unravel before I retire. Also, I intend to stick as much nice loot in my room as possible before I do as well.

20th Opal: At the eleventh hour of my reign, a gem cutter goes and starts up a big project. I suppose it won't be finished in my time...

25th Opal: Nevermind, he just finished making a flask from a single gemstone. Which is, frankly, impressive.

1st Granite: That's it. I'm out. Not even any parting words. I want a break.

I had the hardest time running my turn. I was crawling the entire way, so I really didn't manage to do anything. The file is here.

[Beardless]

Man oh man has it been a rough few weeks.  Sorry for taking so long on my turn, but everything seems to be happening at once at work, blah blah I'm sure you're not interested.   I'm downloading the save and plan to make my first report later tonight.

(I'm not going to keep up with the story started in my earlier "diary entry."  I had planned to use it as a basis for "seizing power" from Liwjatan, but made one tiny miscalculation: it wasn't my turn yet.  I'd have to account for an entire YEAR between my "coup" and actually taking power!)

[Beardless]

1st Granite, 206
There are certain advantages to living in the middle of nowhere.  No elves, no goblins, and best of all, no nobles!  (Although I must say a few of our past Mayors have been trying to make up for that.)  It may have been a drunken boast that landed us out here, but we're doing quite well for ourselves.  And they said we wouldn't last three days.  Ha!  We've been here five full years and are going strong!

Tradition dictates a new leader each Spring, and my time has come.  Things have gone pretty well under our last few leaders, but I'm sure I can find some small way

YE GODS!  25 IDLERS?!?


2nd Granite, 206
I now see why we switch off leaders each year.  Insanity.  Either there is a curse that slowly drives our leaders insane, or it's the burden of managing such a mad place.  Which could be considered a curse in itself...

An initial survey quickly degenerated into me walking around in a daze.  I am convinced my predecessor was completely mad before the end.  Here are just a few of the things I found:

*50 idle hands.  That's not counting children or dwarves at the party.
*Unlabeled levers.  Luckily all seem to be for flooding our plump helmet and tower cap farms.  They got water once, we can safely ignore them now.
*167 raw fish sitting in stores.  Why are we storing RAW fish?
*A SHOCKING lack of alchoholic beverages.  There are more dwarves than drinks here!  Dwarven ale is all find and dandy, but what about dwarven rum, dwarven brandy, and dwarven wine?  And WHY was every unit of dwarven wine we DO have marked for disposal?
*One severely deranged child.  As of this writing, the poor thing has woken screaming over 2500 times since I accepted the burden of leadership.  He refuses to sleep because "the batman will get him".

...and a note.  It seems my predecessor has left me "a surprise".  Please let it be something I've discovered already...


4th Granite, 206
Poor little Obok Usirkikrost has mercifully bled to death.  Now maybe the rest of us can sleep.

15th Granite, 206
I've dealt with most of the little problems I've found, but there's still the matter of all those idle hands.  After a great deal of thought, I believe I've come to a solution.

I'm going to ignore it.


=====================
Yeah, that imaginary batman was kind of weird.  I'm glad the kid died on his own because I was just about to remove his bed and install a stone-fall trap.  Seriously, 5000 "Brat cancels Rest: interrupted by Batman." messages in four days is a bit much.  I'm not sure, but I think my FPS improved slightly after that happened.

You know what else is weird?  Our King is an Elf.  Seriously.  Look under civilizations or Legends Mode.

[Beardless]

22nd Granite, 206
No less than three members of the City Guard have become Legendary brawlers in the last week.  I definitely need to come up with something to occupy people's time.  Hmm...

6th Slate, 206
The Big Project is moving along quite well, but we're starting to run low on iron.  Undoubtedly some will call me wasteful, but better safe than sorry!  *I* won't be the one responsible for the gap in the fortress defense that dooms us all!  I'd better divert the miners to that lode of magnetite marked for future use.  I'll also have them dig up that vein of hematite while they're at it.

28th Slate, 206
Phase A testing began today.  Mixed success.  The prototype magma pump worked well, but it appears we need to implement a few more safety procedures.

1st Felsite, 206
And now the pump itself has melted.

2nd Felsite, 206
Zuglar Ustathatol has finally burned to death.  Thank Id he didn't make a scene like that kid two months ago.  He was happy--nay, ecstatic--to the very end.  It was kind of creepy watching him make small talk with a passing Cheese Maker just before he died.

Who's going to try to bury that flaming corpse is what I want to know.

4th Felsite, 206
The fires are out.  Time to get back to work.

10th Felsite, 206
GODS, NO!  Is THIS the surprise Lucid left me?

=====================
What I learned in Dwarf Fortress today:
*Magma is so sticky that it will decide to flow diagonally backwards rather than fall down into an open pit.
*Being burnt alive isn't too bad if you just had a really nice meal.

[Beardless]

14th Felsite, 206
How could I not see it before?  EVERYONE here is mad.  How else to explain it all?  When I was notified of new immigrants, I ordered the Captain of the Guard to send a squad to escort them in.  Why then, if he were not mad, did he send the recruits in TRAINING?  And why, if THEY were not mad, did they all charge a Giant Bat one by one?  And WHY, when I PERSONALLY sent out Jakey's squad, did they IGNORE it and watch it fly away before coming back in for a drink?  And most importantly, why didn't Lucid, who I thought was a good friend, not tell me --bide a moment, duty calls.


16th Felsite, 206
A busy few days.  It started with my first meeting with the new Baroness.  It didn't go well.  The moment I walked into the room, she started talking past me, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"We are not pleased with our accommodations.  We require--"

"You require?  You require?!?  In case you didn't notice, we have more important things to deal with right now!  Maybe if you had given us advance notice we might have been ready for you, but you didn't so you'll just have to wait!"

"I am sure that sufficient notice was given.  When I learned of Snookums' bet, I promised him we would see the results first-hand some day.  Last Fall, we head that your colony had not only survived, but was thriving!  I dispatched a courier on the spot.  Surely he arrived months before we did."

Dammit.  Lucid did know!  I started listening again as the Baroness addressed her Consort.  "Really, dear, this is the only way you'll ever learn to take responsibility for your actions!"

Wait.  This was the noble that got us all banished here?  I'm afraid I lost my temper.

"Responsibility?  THIS is what you call responsibility?  Waltzing in here without so much as a by-your-leave, taking no traveling precautions?  Good dwarves died because your pet Hammerer didn't deign to help!  You weren't even here a full day before your Tax Collector started imposing this blasted "economy" upon us!  And I don't even want to know what HE thinks he's going to do!"  This last while pointing at the "Philosopher" trying to look unobtrusive in the corner.  "WHAT IS IT?" I roared at a timid knocking at the door.

"S-Sir?  We can't get that c-c-corkscrew..."

I turned to the Baroness.  "Thanks to your interference, six good dwarves are dead, we have an infant with major injuries, and a carpenter that has gone mad with grief.  We did just fine without your interference before.  We could do just as well with you and your cronies gone.  Think about that.  Also think about how far it is to the Mountainhomes.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go deal with that pesky Fire Imp again."

I know I'm going to regret that outburst.

Later:
I knew Liwjatan could not be trusted.  I have uncovered evidence that he is cooperating with the Tax Collector and has been the main force in setting prices for the new economy.  Filthy collaborator!


17th Felsite, 206
Perhaps it wasn't so bad after all.  The tantrums have stopped, the nobles aren't doing anything, and our great military seems to have pulled the stick out of its collective ass and killed that bat.  Maybe I should scream and threaten people more often!


18th Felsite, 206
Tried some more threatening today.  It didn't go over too well.

To the Baroness Tirist Stinthädolin:

You had best keep your pet Hammerer on a shorter leash.  The Fortress Guard had the situation well under control before your Hammerer stepped in.  One overturned table was NOT a crime worthy of execution!  Draconian punishments like this are just going to make the situation worse.  A situation, if you may recall, brought about by your unannounced arrival.  Your arrival here with no escorts did not give me a high opinion of your intelligence.  This manner of dispensing "justice" does not help.  I meant what I said earlier.  Consider this your final warning.

Signed, B. Stukónèrith, Leader of the Gate of Hell


To the Beardless Witling Who Believes He is "In Charge":

I appreciate your bluntness.  Let me be blunt in return.  You had best behave lest I take your toys away from you.  You claim to have done "quite well" before my arrival.  All I see is a military so incompetent it lost six trained soldiers in an engagement an unguarded immigrant caravan walked past unharmed.  When I entered your mighty fortress, I found injured children, mad dwarves wandering free, and a shocking lack of respect for the King's Writ.  Fail to heed my commands, and you will find the road to the Mountainhome dungeons shorter than you think.

Her Grace, Baroness Tirist Stinthädolin

This letter was delivered by one of the new immigrants.  He was wearing a uniform I'd never seen before.  It seems Her Grace has established a Royal Guard that answers straight to Herself.  The Fortress Guard seems loyal so far.  I think it's time for another recruitment drive...


19th Felsite, 206
It had to happen sooner or later.  We're going to have trouble with morale for quite a while.  We've been lucky that so far it has always been melancholy.  This time, a fish cleaner went berserk.  Our luck continued to hold as he happened to be standing next to one of our elite wrestlers when he finally cracked.

Lokum Ducimgomath broke every limb in the mad dwarf's body and threw what was left of him a good 80 feet.  That dwarf has been here a long time and could stand against the Hammerer one-on-one.  I'm making him my new Captain of the Guard.

More bad news:
Some trapper went melancholy.
A woodworker started throwing a tantrum, but luckily was already chained up.

20th Felsite, 206
Another melancholy.  This time a brewer.  Damn it all!

Later: One of our mechanics broke down and is now a babbling wreck.  We can't afford to lose all these dwarves!


21st Felsite, 206
Three tantrums today: a child, a weaver, and one of my hand-picked Fortress Guards.


22nd Felsite, 206
The tantruming child destroyed another table.  So far, the Baroness has ordered no punishment.  Did I win this round?


25th Felsite, 206
On top of everything else our second ruler, EchoP, has gone into a Fey Mood!


27th Felsite, 206
One of our top engravers went stark mad today.  Such a pity.  He could have been useful in mollifying those damn nobles.  Oh, and two more dwarves are tantruming.  Including a recruit.

On the other hand, EchoP finished his construction!  He proudly proclaimed the creation of Angtegir, "The Red Breed", a slate floodgate.  That menaces with spikes of slate.  And features an image of a tower-cap idol.  In gabbro this time.

Who am I kidding?  We're doomed.  Just let me hold out long enough to install Angtegir as part of my noble-drowning system.  I'll be happy if I can only take that thrice-cursed Baroness with me.

[Beardless]

1st Hematite, 206
I suspect the Baroness is somehow sowing dissent.  Every time everyone is all calmed down, two or three dwarves suddenly start throwing a fit.  I'm letting her believe she's won (for now).  Noble quarters are showing good progress.  I just have to keep my temper until I can demonstrate the use of my special lever...

2nd Hematite, 206
Jailbreak!  Kadol èrithdalzat managed to destroy her chain and run free.  I hope she's happy--now I have to add another two weeks to her sentence for vandalism!  I've instructed the Guard to at least allow her a drink and a night's sleep before hauling her back.

Morale is our biggest problem.  I've started a beautification project, beginning with the jail.  Want to bet on what the Baroness's reaction will be?

Later: Thought so.  Only hours after notifying Her Grace, two dwarves started tantruming.  Another (a bone carver) went insane.  One of the Royal Guards was seen near the victim just before the madness struck, but as there are no witnesses to what passed between them, I can prove nothing.

4th Hematite, 206
One of our armourers started babbling yesterday.  Today it was a child.  Who went berserk.  As usual (gods, "as usual"!) the would-be berserker was standing in the barracks.  The clean-up is going to be ugly...

8th Hematite, 206
Morale is still dangerously low, but things have mostly calmed down.  A weaver was stricken by melancholy today, but that's the first crisis in four days.  I've even had time to work on the Big Project again.  A quick test of the redesigned pump went well.  I'll save the long-term test until the safety shower is finished.  Gods know we don't need any more deaths around here!

12th Hematite, 206
The weaver threw himself into a chasm today.  I worry about what will happen when the other melancholics start dying.

16th Hematite, 206
Four mad dwarves in the last four days.  A melancholic, a babbler, and two berserkers.  Our luck hasn't held; the berserkers were far from any military dwarves this time.  The first killed a melancholic, but was locked in a storeroom before he could do any more damage.  The second... had a pick.  He was able to fatally wound a fisherdwarf and a woodcrafter before the military caught him.

There have been more tantrums than I can count.  We're running out of space in the jail.  An animal caretaker was just beaten to death.  My own Guard has become just as ruthless as that damned Hammerer.

Crap.  Must go deal with anoother jailbreak.

18th Hematite, 206
A wrestler went berserk in prison today, killing her baby before help could arrive.

20th Hematite, 206
I thought things were too calm.  Two more maddwarves.  I'm thinking of redesignating the jail as the insane asylum.  And please, no applause.  Putting a booze stockpile in the jail so there's a perpetual military presence in case of berserk dwarves?  Sheer coincidence.

1st Malachite, 206
Things seem to be slowing down again.  Only one madness and one jailbreak in the last week.

Later: Dammit, why do I never learn to keep my mouth shut?  Two dwarves just went mad, including a berserk butcher.  At least the Guard was nearby this time.

======================
Man.  One simple "clerical" error (sending the wrong squad out) and the whole fortress slowly goes insane.  I really hope I can get past this soon.  These diary entries must be getting boring by now.

What I learned in Dwarf Fortress today: Allowing your dwarves to make friends is BAD!  Very, very bad.

[Beardless]

3rd Malachite, 206
The breeding room burst open today.  A flood of animals poured out for hours on end.  Too bad the Baroness wasn't there to see it.  They might have trampled her.  Anyway, I figure we've got enough of the little meat-bags so I ordered them all caged.  I hope Kazindir appreciates the company.

Also: A Guard and a weaver went mad.  What's new?  Oh yeah, some of the first dwarves to go mad are starting to die of dehydration.  Better brace for more bad news--unless all their friends were already dead?  Hmm.

Later: Went to the Mayor to inquire about the mad dwarves' friends?  Turns out he went mad a week ago, only days after being elected.  Figures.


5th Malachite, 206
Another melancholic.  And Zulban Kûbukoslan destroyed--destroyed--a carpenter's workshop.  That child deserves a beating but nobody seems willing to do it.  The worst thing about it is he doesn't even have as much reason as most for acting out.  He's just growing up a spoiled little brat!

And another berserker.  No damage done this time.


6th Malachite, 206
Damn.  If the military starts going mad, we could be in big even worse trouble.  One of our trained wrestlers went berserk today.  I thought he might attack the Baroness for a moment, but he took one look and ran the other way.  Pity.


7th Malachite, 206
One of the kids went berserk today.  When the Guard broke down the door to her room, they found an absurd number of coins lying all over the room.  It seems that she was involved in some shady dealings before she snapped.

Great--on top of everything else, I have a juvenile crime ring to crack. 


10th Malachite, 206
Berserk leatherworker.  Chased a poor fisherdwarf through the mines for two full days before the militia arrived to rescue her.  Amazingly enough, said dwarf is still in good psychological condition!  Maybe there is still hope for this fortress.

We're finally making headway against the poor stockpile management of my predecessors.  Both masonry workshops were filled to the brim with chests and cabinets.  No wonder the coffin-makers had such a hard time keeping up with demand--the masons couldn't find a place to work!  That shouldn't be a problem any more, thank Id.

Speaking of predecessors, I finally had a chance to chat with Lucid about the "surprise" she left me.  She vehemently denied knowing what I was talking about.  I didn't push the subject--she can be one scary lady when provoked.  Strangely, when I returned to my quarters and searched my papers, I couldn't find the note that has been bothering me for so long.  Did the Baroness already have an agent in place when I came to power here?  Was I already going mad even then?

I think it's time to look to my safety.


13th Malachite, 206
Berserk metalcrafter.  I thought that maybe training a bunch of war dogs might help prevent casualties, but based on today's encounter, it doesn't look like it.

Oh well.  At least it keeps the Dungeon Master busy.


15th Malachite, 206
Carpenter went berserk.  Managed to put her down, but what about the baby?

The Captain of the Guard I chose back in Felsite is looking to be a bad decision.  He's been getting in a lot of fights lately, but nothing ever seemed to come of it.  I finally investigated and turns out he's racked up quite a jail sentence, but has been avoiding it by assigning mad dwarves to carry it out.  I've been avoiding relieving these dwarves from the Guard to avoid starting a panic, but it seems I have to now.

Later: Relieved four members of the Guard due to psychological problems.  Was unable to relieve a fifth because he's a "champion" and there would be riots if I lifted a finger against him.  Now I need to make a tough decision.  Do I strip Lokum of the Captaincy and risk driving him further into depression, or do I just hope that he works his issues out in prison?


16th Malachite, 206
Liwjatan lost it today.  I never have liked that dwarf and it's no more than he deserves for collaborating with the Baroness, but I take no pleasure in ordering his death.  We cannot afford to lose anyone, and much as I hated him, he performed an important function in the Fortress.  It will take ages to train another dwarf to take his place.

Later: The bastard got the last laugh.  I CAN'T READ HIS NOTES!


19th Malachite, 206
Things have calmed down a bit since Liwjatan's death.  Several of the tantruming dwarves have settled down, and the one madness wasn't a berserk for once.  Was Liwjatan the provocateur?  It's tempting to think so, but I'm not sure.  I doubt the Baroness cares at all for the well-being of the fortress, but even Liwjatan wouldn't go this far on purpose, would he?  We'll probably never know.

After much thought, I have chosen a cheesemaker named Tekkud Oltarïdath as Liwjatan's replacement.  There were more qualified dwarves for the position, but precious few that were stable.

Of course, there isn't a single dwarf in the fortress left that knows the art of Appraisal.


20th Malachite, 206
That little twerp Zulban is at it again.  This time he destroyed a lever.  It wasn't an essential piece of machinery, but I swear if he so much as touches a piece of the Big Project or the nobles' "maintenance" system, I'll kill him.

===================
Not sure where I got the idea that Lucid left me a "surprise".  I could have sworn I saw something about that, but I can't find it now so I must have been imagining it.

Sorry progress is so slow.  And too bad Liwjatan had to die!  (Diary had to be in character though! )  I hope we don't lose any more named dwarves, not least because mine is probably second in line for the madness now.

[Beardless]

23 Malachite, 206
A couple of our unfortunate melancholics died of thirst today.  Designated additional graveyard space in some unused workshops--the graveyard I had excavated is full of stone and it's not getting moved fast enough.

On the positive side, the Baroness actually did some work today!  I guess she's just as annoyed with all the dogs underfoot as I am, since she directed the other nobles to comply with my "All Dogs Shall Be Caged Immediately" decree and even caged a few herself!

Later: Two more engravers have succumbed to the madness--just to replace the dwarves that died, I'm sure.


25th Malachite, 206
Crap.  Lucid is after me.  I just now got a report that she had broken out of jail.  I didn't even know she was in prison!  As it turns out, she's been acting pretty strangely ever since we had that "chat"...  Getting in fights, destroying property...  What's come over her?  I thought I could depend on her at least to stay sane in this madhouse.  Well, I was mistaken.  First thing she did after bursting her chains was head to the masonry workshop.  She's now busy building coffins.  Under other circumstances I would be glad of it (we have way too many corpses lying around and it's absolutely destroying morale), but I cannot help but worry about the way she keeps muttering my name as she works...

Later:
Oh gods, what a mess.  It was a reasonable precaution to take.  Any dwarf would have done the same.  I didn't intend for it to turn out like this!  I asked the Guard to protect me, not to beat her to death!

May it please Id that Jakey understand I had nothing to do with this!


27th Malachite, 206
Strangely, knowing my days may be numbered has allowed me to find peace.  The Captain of the Guard has succumbed to melancholy, the children are starting to fall prey to depression, and we are now being harrassed by giant bat pups of all things, but I have finally found tranquility in the pursuit of art.  With no need for mining or cooking at the moment, I have tried my hand at engraving and found myself tolerably good at it.  When I showed some of my work to one of our few professional engravers that hasn't yet gone mad, he pronounced it a masterpiece!  Well well.  Too bad I was so engrossed in my work I didn't notice I was decorating the Baroness "throne room"!  I almost destroyed the engraving right then and there, but in the end I decided not to.  True, it's wasted on that scumbag, but it might just please her enough to keep her off my back.


2nd Galena, 206
One of the bat pups slew a furnace operator soon after my last entry.  It then started chasing a child.  Sadly, little Nish panicked and ran away from safety.  Instead of leading the beast into the line of traps we had prepared, he ran for the hills--and the entrance to the chasm.  I immediately dispatched a large squad to pursue and rescue him if possible, but it was futile of course.

Nish led the beast on a good chase for a full four days, but a second bat pup arose from the chasm as he approached, trapping him.  The military sadly arrived just in time to see him bleed to death.  We were able to avenge Nish's death, but the other bat got away.  I have directed Jakey to train a squad of marksdwarves with the express purpose of destroying the monster before it reaches maturity.  He accepted his new command with a grim pleasure--it looks like he's not going to kill me after all.  At least not yet.


3rd Galena, 206
Disaster!  As the rescue squad returned home, saddened by their inability to save Nish, a giant bat arose from the chasm behind them and set upon Ducim Nitigducim, who was still slightly stunned from a headbutting during the previous fight.  There was nothing that could be done--the squad was strung out all the way to the main entrance, where the pup that got away ambushed the squad leader.  Asmel Unibbomrek (a true Champion!) rushed back to save Ducim, but was too late.  The beast (which we have named "Cleftwonders") appears to have been the mother of the pups that killed Nish.  Losing one pup was bad, but seeing its second pup beaten to a bloody pulp sent it into a rage.  May Id protect you, Asmel!

Vucar the butcher went mad at exactly the same time.  If I didn't know better, I'd swear this was planned.

Jakey needn't worry about losing his chance at the bat pup.  There will always be plenty of monsters to kill in this hellhole.  A giant eagle was sighted today and I don't doubt it'll make a nuisance of itself soon enough.


5th Galena, 206
After two days and two nights locked in mortal combat, Asmel has emerged victorious.  I have given her command of her own squad in recognition of this legendary feat.

Meanwhile, Vucar the Butcher earned her name.  She managed to tear her first victim (her own infant!) limb to limb despite two dogs trying their best to protect the child.  She then proceeded to wrestle the dogs to death.  And then to break every limb in poor Rokuogan's body when she valiantly attempted to hold her until the Guard arrived.  In the end it took two champion wrestlers and a war dog to put her down, and I doubt the dog is going to survive.

I'm going to miss Rokuogan.  Only three of the seven founders are left now.  It's down to EchoP, Jakey, and myself.  The (supposedly) sane population of the fortress is now less than 100.  Frankly, I have my doubts as to whether any of them are sane any more.  It seems like several of the "sane" dwarves have started worshipping the beasts that constantly harass us.  Almost all of the surviving chasm residents have been named, and the guard that first warned me about this strange behavior?  Disappeared without a trace.  I'm told he threw himself into the chasm, but I don't believe it.

I'll put a lid on that damn chasm if it's the last thing I do.


14th Galena, 206
We've had two champions, a miner, and a wrestler succumb to melancholy in the last week.  We can't even find Meng's body.  Creepy.

The melancholic streak was broken today when another champion went berserk.  Luckily Sodel was in his room at the time, so we could lock him in.  The only casualty was his cat.


19th Galena, 206
In the midst of the tragedy that we have come to associate with our daily lives, there is a small bloom of hope.  The Cattens have had another child, and seem to be oblivious to the despair that surrounds them on all sides.  May their happiness continue unabated.

My own happiness is severely lacking.  We lost two more soldiers to the madness.  I've had to consolidate some of the squads.  The only good thing about it is we're highly unlikely to ever need them, aside from putting down berserkers.


20th Galena, 206
You know what?  I've put my best face on for three and a half months now, but I can't pretend any longer.  What's the point?  We truly are living at the Gates of Hell.  What can one do when he knows there is no chance of survival?

I received the BEST ERROR MESSAGE EVER during today's session:

Ducim Talulzefon, Champion cancels Sparring in Barracks: Too insane.

Speaking of which, next update ought to be interesting...  Anyone care to speculate?  I'm going to be gone for a day or two so fire away!

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Someone dies!

[Beardless]

Despite the bitter cold at the bottom of the world and the undead monsters surrounding it, Inod Shash has been an excellent trading partner.  So we ignored the rumours that started popping up in early summer and set out for another years' profitable trading.  I'm starting to think it wasn't such a good idea.

As the wagons drew up to the trading depot, I saw the first signs.  The ground outside the depot was stained with mud, blood, and vomit.  A hole gaped in the roof of the rude structure sheltering the depot, and a skeleton lay in the corner.  Looking closer, I could tell it was a gnome of some sort, not a dwarf as I originally thought, but disturbing none the less.

As I looked for someone to announce our arrival, a dwarf emerged from one of the stairwells.  Instead of hailing us and taking word to the dwarves inside, he took one look at us and hurried outside.  Once there, he looked up at the Sun, sat down, and began weeping uncontrollably.

Someone must have noticed our arrival however for soon after, dwarves began bringing items to the trading depot.  Drawn, haggard dwarves, saying no word to us, dropping their "goods" and hurrying back down the stairwells into the fortress proper.  Even the animals are starting to spook when these silent dwarves draw near.

What has happened here?


I was finally able to speak with a child that wandered by.  If I had hoped to quell my misgivings, I was sorely disappointed.  When I asked where Liwjatan (whom all the previous caravans dealth with) was, the child just laughed and told me that the "new broker" was busy.  When I asked for the Mayor, her reply was no more reassuring: "Oh you wouldn't like him.  He just screams and throws stuff around.  It's OK though, he can't move so you just have to stay away from the bed when he goes nuts."  She then waved and ran outside to play.  The poor weeping dwarf was still sitting by the entrance, and I swear she giggled as she ran past.  What is wrong with this place?


We still have seen no sign of anyone in charge.  Silent dwarves continue to bring their goods to the depot--piles upon piles of torn dresses, bloodstained socks, worn and rotting vests, vomit-stained trousers... 

I saw the child again today, and asked her once more where the Mayor was.  She giggled and said, "I told you he wouldn't be a problem!" before skipping off back into the fortress.

Those stairwells have started giving me nightmares.  The caravan guards don't like them either.  Every night after we give up waiting for the broker to arrive, a faint moaning sound drifts up from those dark holes.  Occasionally the moans give way to shrieks and shouting.  The guards try to keep watch, but there are too many--and they surround us on all sides.

The really unnerving thing is the smell.  It's almost too faint to detect, but there is no getting away from the stench--decay, and madness.  I try to tell myself there's nothing in a name but in my gut, I know the truth.  We truly are camped on the doorstep of the Gate of Hell.

I'm giving them three more days.  If they're not ready to trade by then, we're gone.


When will the piles of dead dwarves' clothes stop???

[Beardless]

Yay, the forum's back!

Well that "weekend" ended up being much longer than I expected.  You've probably guessed by now that the "interesting thing" that happened was my dwarf went insane.  Violently.  And was killed by Jakey.  There's poetic justice for you!  I was a bit disappointed though... the Baroness, her Consort, and the Tax Collector were all sleeping in rooms right next to the one Beardless was working in when he snapped--but instead of slaughtering the hated nobility, he made a beeline to the main barracks where approximately twenty soldiers were sparring.  Idiot.

State of the Fortress:

Currently early Sandstone.  Dwarves seem to be going insane at a slower rate, but I've thought that before.  Most of the jailed dwarves have gone mad.  All our champions went berserk, but we've got new ones now, and they seem to be in excellent mental condition thank goodness.

Got a new Mayor shortly before the caravan arrived.  He was resting in bed from a broken leg, bruised spine and neck, and was already tantruming even before the rest of the dwarves rushed over to complain at him.  No surprise that he went berserk in less than a month, really.

One berserker locked in a bedroom finally starved to death, but another dwarf replaced him.  Two others went berserk while asleep, and never woke up.

Jakey went melancholy.  We're down to one named dwarf, EchoP.  Total population of the fortress: 75.

And in the midst of all this madness someone went into a fey mood, producing... a pair of cave spider silk trousers.  I really don't want to know how he managed to work a stone block into that.

[Grath]

Built-in athletic cup?
I should try to make a fort go insane, it sounds fun.

[Beardless]

Honestly, it's more fun writing about than actually playing.  That's why it's taking me so long.  Well, that and the FPS, although that's starting to get better as the population drops. *cackle*