The First YearMaster Silvercoin's log:
We've arrived! True to his word, Oakenbeard has led us to the site of our new home. It's quite cold here, and I doubt it'll get much warmer. But drove past the obsidian over the magma pipe, so we know where it is. And we spotted Galena and some Frost Crystals near the surface, so it looks promising.
For now, though, I'm focusing our efforts on carving out a decent living and workspace.
Initial stocks:
We have a good supply of food and booze, some logs, and Bronzebeard's smithing supplies. He brought an anvil, coal, cassiterite, sphalerite, copper, and a chunk of platinum. He also brought some cinnabar and cobaltite. He says all of this will give us the materials to make some trade goods and some basic equipement. We also have Oakenbeards dog and Rainsong's beloved cave crab. Sadly, both are male so we can't rely on them for any breeding. We do have a fine pair of Muskox, though, and I think they'll provide a nice supply of food and leather in the future.
Mid-summer:
The fortress is progressing well. The farms are up and operational, the main workshop and stockpiles are ready, and we've started working on the dining and living areas. A small work party arrived today. Just 5 dwarves, but their extra hands will help quite a bit. Good to see that the Queen is willing to put bodies behind her words.
Early autumn: The main gate is finished and we've got the watchtower started. Just the first level is complete, but eventually it'll grow to a beacon of the land. We got another set of workers today. I've put two of them to wrestling and another to training with a crossbow. The rest are busy cutting wood, digging out chambers, and making furniture. I've also laid out plans for a wall to surround the fortress.
I've forbidden our new soldiers from using weapons until we have a water source, in case of injuries. Fortunatly, Redstone and Slate have reported feeling the tell-tale tremors of a waterfull in the rocks. We just need to find it.
Mid-autumn:
A trade caravan arrived today. Bronzebeard had made a nice stack of Brass crafts to trade, as well as a nice Platinum Idol. We also had a good stockpile of rock crafts that I made in my spare time. In exchange we got some more metal bars, some barrels of booze, a few gems, and some food. The traders had brought some animals, but they didn't survive the harsh cold. I decided to buy the cages anyway, since they'll come in handy and we can butcher the deal animals for food and leather.
Late autumn:
Damn, a kobold was spotted today. Unfortunately he managed to get away before any of the soldiers could catch him. This worries me, as it means that our presence here will soon be common knowledge. We'll have to beef up our defenses sooner then I thought.
Early winter: We broached the magma chamber today and sounded out it's shape. Nice and large. Slate, Bronzebeard, and I sat down and mapped out a design for the magma forges. Bronzebeard also made sure we included a side chamber for his personal forge and office.
Slate also reported that he'd found damp stone.
Mid-winter: We've found the top of the cave river and Slate has breached the top. Unfortunately the river is crawling with slimy nasties, so we've sent our soldiers up to deal with them. I've also decided that, if we can, we should catch some for use later. We have a few cages lying around, so we should be able to set up some traps.
Rainsong has also asked us to set up a fishing area there. But of course we won't be able to use it until we've cleared out the critters.
Late Winter: My time as overseer of this fort is drawing to a close. The cave river still needs to be dealt with, and work is still progressing on the magma forges. But we're in good shape. The wall isn't done yet, but our masons are making good progress there. We also have more then enough bedrooms for everyone, although we'll need more once the next batch of workers arrive.
Here is the current fort overview:
I've also left quite a few notes on the fortress blueprints. I trust the next overseer will find them useful.