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[varnish]

(community fort, using orc mod, etc)

From the journals of Solon Wardbridges

Entry #344

I never should have answered the Royal Summons.

Oh, I admit, if I hadn't I likely would have had my head bashed in, but it's a matter of comparison. Immediate certain death versus certain death that will probably take its good old time getting to me. Which one would you prefer?

So, by way of explanation, Mad King Onul (as he insists on being called) decided it would be a wonderful idea to build a bridge. “A monument to my power and glory and also, incidentally, my legendary madness that will go down in history as something really amazing and.” That was how the message he sent to me read. A bridge, I thought. No problem, I thought. No chance of horrible, bloody death in a project like that, I thought.

I really need to stop thinking. See, it turns out that the “bridge” he wants is intended to “bridge the gap between our homes and the dark continent of the Orcs”. That gap being the ocean. It's a small gap at the point he's talking about, I'll admit, but it's still the damned ocean. And there's that little thing about Orcs being on the other side. Also, he wants the bridge built of “the finest iron, or maybe aluminum. I'll get back to you on that one”.



Needless to say, when I voiced a few of my concerns to our king, he had to remind me that it was “Mad King”. He reminded me of this by putting a chamber pot on his head and throwing socks at me until I agreed to try the scheme. (While he was doing that, the Hammerer also gave me a Look).

So now I'm here, on the good ship Akmamkogan. (I say good ship, it's actually a rotting wreck waiting to happen) We've got a week to go before we reach our destination. If I'm still alive by that time I'll eat my beard.


(So here's the thing. I got a world where there were two separate continents, close enough to each other that there were several places where both continents were accessible on the embark screen. Naturally, I thought it would be pretty fun to y'know, build a bridge between the two. Probably not a new or unique idea, but the hell with it.

For something a little different, I thought it would be fun if when the fall caravan arrives with it shall come a new demand from Mad King Onul. It'd be up to you, the readers, to decide what that demand is. New megaprojects? Fine. Mass dwarven sacrifice? Sure. Keep in mind that I'm still pretty new to Dwarf Fortress, so... the more insane and impossible, the better.)

[LegoLord]

This looks very interesting (and funny).  I'll take one:

Proficient mechanic/ Proficient siege engineer.
Gender, male.  Name, Lord Legon.

Basically, he's a jerk.

[Vieto]

Cazador
Male
Hunter, butcher, tanner, leatherworker, future crossbowdwarf

Smart Dwarf, who prefers outdoors to indoors because it is easier to kill an elf when you are above them, instead of below them.

[Frelock]

I love a fortress which has the smell of certain doom about it.

Name: Frea
Female (odds are you won't get an all-male cast)
Profession: Proficient cook / Competent Brewer / Planter

Your local barmaid, willing to break up a fight if need be, but would rather brew, cook, and serve up some merriment.

[inaluct]

Sign me up.

Inaluct
Miner
Novice Mason

Either gender.

[Red Fortune]

Count me in!

Red Fortune
A mad crafter who is obsessed with dogs, their meat, and their bones.
Bone crafter, butcher, animal trainer, leatherworker/tanner.

Male, he prefers to always take the other option, and prefers solitude (except for his dogs) he despises cats and wants them mexterminated. He also has no interest for the actual project.

[sonerohi]

Pokpokpokpok

Mechanic & architect who insists that nothing works right unless it makes the sound 'pok' constantly.

[Sir_Geo]

Sir_Geo
-Miner
-Weapon/Armorsmith (and whatever is necessary)
A lazy dwarf that finds any excuse to not be useful. Likes to jump out of holes in walls (that he digs randomly) and startle others.

[Remalle]

Sounds fun, sign me up.
Remalle, Woodcutter/Axedwarf, any gender

You know what you also need to do?  You need to have at least one giant support, extending all the way from the ocean floor to the middle of the bridge.  Bonus points if the support is actually large enough to live in.  Also a built-in aqueduct.

[varnish]

You know what you also need to do?  You need to have at least one giant support, extending all the way from the ocean floor to the middle of the bridge.  Bonus points if the support is actually large enough to live in.  Also a built-in aqueduct.

Yessssss...

Dwarfs have been assigned and the caravan has embarked. Actual fortress-ing will begin when I wake up in the morning. A warning: some of you may not be as manly as you hoped.

The spot:


I have no doubt that a huge wave is about to swamp the wagon and drag everyone out to sea.

[Red Fortune]

Hmmm... But how can one build in water?

[Katsuun]

Could I have the first child born in the fort named Kat? If you don't mind.

[Remalle]

Hmmm... But how can one build in water?

Cave-ins?

[varnish]

From the journals of Solon Wardbridges

Entry #345

Well, I'm still alive, and I've been spitting out whiskers for the better part of the day.

The early morning on the first of Granite started out with a literal bang as we ran aground on... something, I'm not sure what. A reef? Or a shark? Or... a spar? Those are all nautical objects, right?

My memory of what happened after that is a bit fuzzy, what with all the pitch blackness and near drowning that was going on. It seems that some of us managed to scramble to shore while salvaging some supplies. How, I have no idea. Late morning found seven of us standing forlornly on what we were all quick to realize was the wrong shore of the wrong continent. The sand around us was covered with footprints, which the hunter Cazador casually mentioned looked like Orc tracks. No sign of the captain or his crew, unfortunately.  That means there's no one we can string up by his toes for getting us in this mess.

Still, I'm not one to weep in despair at the first sight of disaster, so I took stock. I decided to start by interviewing the other waterlogged survivors, asking the usual questions, like who are you, what do you do, and just what the hell is your problem? It was only after I finished said interviews that I broke down and wept. Nevertheless, the official notes are as follows.













I can at least take comfort in the fact that not all of them are psychopaths. But that's the crew I have to work with. That collection of... well, deviants! Did all the sane dwarfs drown? I mean, this is what a sensible Dwarf looks like:



Well, there's nothing to be done about it. Strike the earth, I suppose.

(Note: I tried to match dwarfs to the personalities people described, and I think it worked out ok. Look, Red Fortune even likes dog! She likes dog quite a lot.)

[varnish]

Greatbridge of Oceans, Week One

Solon Wardbridges was quickly learning what it meant to be the leader of an expedition of proud dwarfs in a new, wild land. Specifically, it meant that you were damp, cold, under appreciated, and overworked.

Inaluct was faced with enormous responsibility as the group's sole miner, and took to said responsibility like fire to a beard (There was a lot of screaming involved.) Nevertheless, she was now driving her pick into the packed red sand cliff face, muttering about aquifers.



The dwarfs called Red Fortune and Pokpokpokpok had become fast friends, bound together by shared faith in the god Bokbon, and, Solon suspected, shared psychoses as well.

Frea and Lord Legon were also as thick as thieves, albeit for different reasons.



And Cazador was off hunting horses, his elf bone earrings jingling as he stalked the fields. Nothing seemed to interest him outside of the thrill of the hunt. Solon needed to talk to him about that.She was pretty sure you could use salt to preserve meat, but she was also pretty sure that you didn't just toss said meat in the ocean and hope for things to work themselves out.