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[Danarca]

So, I've wanted to do a hermit challenge, and I get the feeling not many have really been recorded, story wise, so I decided to record this one and tell the story
The page is ripped in half, leaving only "...urning alone on their island" before the next paragraph.

My name is Reg Whitebells, and I'm the lone survivor of our group...
A mysterious disease broke out among the settlers as we travelled, only 7 of us survived the trip here...
I could see that the 6 other survivors, at the time, had contracted the disease, so I was forced to... Well, they wouldn't listen!
They were too blind to realize they had it! I was FORCED to leave them there!


I have my pick, a kitten we picked up on our journey, 3 tower-cap logs from the wagon, and 2 female muskoxes.

I will survive though, I will... I hereby name this piece of dirt Withercraze, my name is Reg Whitebells, the Hermit.

1st Granite 133
 
I dug out some rooms for a mason's workshop, and a carpenter's workshop.

2 of the 3 pieces of wood will be used on a barrel and a bed.
I went aboveground later in the day, looking for edible plants, afterwards I went to sleep...

[Danarca]

2nd Granite 133
I started out the day with looking through the nearby shrubs, to see if anything was of interest.
I'm not yet very good at spotting the edible parts though, so I only ended up with some longland grass and a hide root.
My hole still needs some expanding though, so I went back in to carve out room for a still and a fishery, I got a brook nearby so I figure that's going to be a big part of my diet.

Afterwards I couldn't contain my thirst and I was forced to drink from the brook! Yack!

Afterwards I dug out the rest of the still and fishery.
Just need some rocks for building them, but I'll get to it...
Digging out my bedroom, and dining area, I guess, I struck native aluminium!

Can't eat it though, and I don't think I got enough control over the pick to actually get some of it safely out, so it'll stay put until further notice.
Damn hungry though, very hungry...
I was forced to eat a rat...
After hunting down the rodent I went outside to look for shrubs.
Many shrubs later, a piece of longland grass, and a tantrum, I found a bloated a tuber! Better than nothing!
After that I went to bed in my newly carved bedroom.

[Danarca]

3rd Granite 133
I started out the day with looking through more shrubs.
Finding nothing I went back inside and made some booze out of some longland grass.
Unfourtantly I had accidentally put the hide root inside the barrel and the whole ordeal made me throw another tantrum!
I drank from the brook, again, looked through some shrubs, and that's when the caravan arrived.
They couldn't spot any trade depot so they just wandered a bit around, didn't even say hi.
Those merchants sure are a peculiar folk..
I then decided to chose myself as the expedition leader, in order to cheer myself up!
Looking through some more shrubs I found a piece of rat weed.
Satisfied I went down to make a door for my bedroom. Unfortunately, in an earlier fit of rage, I had destroyed my bed.
Carp.

Couldn't really undo it though, so I had no choice but to make a new bed at some point.
Destroying that bed, and chosing myself as expeditionary leader really cheered me up, so decided to fish for a while, and caught a turtle!

I named him  Skippy, reminded myself to build the damn fishery and went to sleep, aboveground.

[Danarca]

4th Granite 133
I hadn't much sleep that night, so I decided to finally make some real booze...

Afterwards I ate the rat weed and drank the booze. It was nice.
I then went upstairs, built the fishery, and butchered Skippy.
Next up was some cleaning, some more booze, and finally making a new bed.

I then dug out a small stockpile for furniture, and took a well deserved break!
I sat and admired the still went I noticed something... Seeds!

I quickly planned a farm plot outside...

I planted the seeds from the rat weed, and went inside to build a door.
After building it I dug out a new stockpile in the soil for stone.

I went upstairs to plant the last of the seeds, and fell asleep...

[Danarca]

5th Granite 133
Skippys shell and bones are lying outside, I think I'll make some goods out of them...

I didn't really feel like going through shrubs afterwards, so I smoothed my dining area.

After that it was time to harvest my plants!
The rat weed went straight to my new dining area!

I dug out a stockpile for craftgoods so Skippy could be elsewhere, and went to bed.

[Danarca]

6th Granite 133
I started out the day with making some more furniture for my bedroom.

After that I went aboveground, and that's when it happened

Oh carp no, migrants...
The nobles will never understand why I put the other settlers to rest... I'll get a hammering for sure!
I'll have to stay out here on my own, where I can't be prosecuted!
I thought quickly, and went out to greet them.
I told them that to be part of this fort, they'd had to undergo trials, the first being the Trial of Fire.
I pointed to the magma pipe, and said they'd have kill a fire imp.

They looked at me like I was a nutjob, but accepted. Suckers.

They came back and told me they were done, and asked why there were dwarf bones on a small island next to the pipe, which I ignored.
I looked into their eyes, no dwarf can pretend a kill, and they were right...

They weren't getting in so easy though! They had to prove their worth!
I dug out a small room next to a pond and prepared their Trial of Water

I just needed a hatch cover to keep them in there, but that was easy enough.

I yelled to them that they'd have completed the trial when they could swim up from there.
That oughta take care of them.
I went back to work and made a second farm so I could have one for rat weed and one for longland grass.
Suddenly Vabôk stormed past me, going for the booze.
They'd both been able to swim up from there...

Wondering what to do now, I decided to exploit what happens when you lose your loved ones.
I began working on the next Trial, but went to sleep after a while, this was going to be good!

[Danarca]

7th Granite 133
I woke up and told Vabôk, the husband, to churn out some rock statues.
He asked me if that was his trial, I said no.
I told the Thîkut to smooth the area I was mining out.
She asked me if this was her trial, I told her that it wasn't.

All the water outside is frozen, best not run out of booze...
The work on the next trial is doing good progress, I've asked Vabôk to make 8 coffins.
He looked perplexed at me, but obeyed.

I was forced to hunt for a rat, damn them, using up my food...
Later in the day I was finally finished with the digging, so I went on with the daily running of the hole until it was time for bed.
8th Granite 133
Today we moved in the statues, and smoothed the area.
Well, they did.
I made myself some more furniture for my bedroom.
We began moving in the coffins, and I dedicated 6 to the rest of the settlers.
All in all, it was looking like a pretty fine day, even though booze was short, until...

Ah carp no.
He came to the hole, and the 3 of us pointed to the magma pipe and told him of the Trial of Fire.
The fire imp spotted him and shrieked, apparently it wasn't in the mood for fighting.
Ast, as the newcomer is named, hunted it for a while and finally got in a blow.

Damnit. Well, unto the Trial of Water.
I prepared a new room for him in the pond and made some hatch covers, just incase of future trials.

Hmm.. Would be nice with some rain, the rain nearly drowned the couple last time...

When I came back I found the new area done:



The Arena of the Trial of Blood.
I'll wait and see if Ast makes it though before the couple get's kicked in there.
...
Just as I wrote this Ast came in for booze. Bastard.
Well, time for the Trial of Blood...

I told them, once they were in and I had locked the doors, that they'd be in here until 1 one of them was left.
The survivor could come and be a permanent resident.
They yelled at me, I laughed.

I wonder how long it's gonna take...

I went up and back to the daily routine, brewing and planting.
Any potential survivor doesn't bother me, they'll probably have gone crazy before that.
While I was cleaning out in the plant stockpile I heard a trampling upstairs;
migrants.
4 of them, with 3 pets...
WHAT THE HELL ARE SO GREAT ABOUT MY HOLE!?
We got Urist the Metalsmith, with his Kitten Kivish and his puppy Likot.
Mistêm the Stonecrafter and his donkey  Zasit.
There's also Kivish the Soap Maker and Olon the Peasant.

I'm out of imps to throw at them, I'll need a more... efficient... Trial...

I've told them not to go down the stairs to the arena, telling them the migrants before them are down there meditating, a process they'll have to go through as well.
They didn't even question me.
I went down to take a look, and lo and behold, Ast and Vabôk had starved to death!
Thîkut was there, she was lying in the floor, rasping at me; "Let me go" she whispered, "I'm the only one left".
Pondering this I asked her to engrave the walls first.
She didn't succeed.
Satisfied with myself I told the new migrants that they had starved during meditation, they asked me why I haven't fed them, I told them that you gain a higher state of conscience when meditating while hungry, that they were allowed to at any time call for food, and that they had chose themselves to starve to death.
They totally bought it.
I went to sleep with a smile.

[Danarca]

9th Granite 133
Today I dug out a new area for... Trialling migrants.
I'll call it the Trial of Community.

They'll have access to water, and with a single rat weed seed they'll have to survive.
To test their understanding of Community, survival and all that, of course.

I went down to the arena and started engraving and making room for more coffins when I heard the usual chatter...
MORE MIGRANTS!?
A miller, brewer, wood burner and a peasant.
Well, guess the Trial of Blood would have some more parcipitants!

Later in the day Urist the Metalsmith suddenly came into the dining room, sat down by my chair, and proclaimed that a party was to be held.
Confused I made my way upstairs, and carp:

That wasn't supposed to happen...
Frustrated I had them build a wall so they wouldn't be able to skate across the ice and then had them driven back in.
No parties today.

[Danarca]

Some pages are ripped out at this point
13th Granite 133
Olon, one of the last two alive in the Trial of Community finally wen't beserk.
He killed everyone in there and is currently crawling around like a beast.

I've made plans to build a butchery, kittens have been born with all the cats the migrants have decided to bring in.

... Carp.
Migrants, 4 of them.

Olon is going to have some new buddies to play with!

Do your best at the Trial of Community, suckers!

14th Granite 133
I woke up to more migrants.
Great.
Well, the Trial of Blood is free right now!

I think that's one of the few positive points of being clean, but with that very disturbing look in your eyes, I don't even have to lie to the migrants anymore.
I just point and they go.
Quite hilarious.
One of the migrants in the Trial of Community destroyed the farm plot in a fit of rage, well done...

On the other hand, I've begun making a more automated method of getting rid of these migrants.
15th Granite 133
The ones in the Trial of Blood are already dead, don't think they get much to eat on the journey here...

Work on a moat are progressing, but is going to take a while.
When I was upstairs for a break I noticed the Trial of Community was finally over.

I wonder for how long I'm going to be here alone until the next batch. I'm beginning to like this.
16th Granite 133
I accidentally dug in a pretty crazy manner, I got no idea how to get up, there's stairs everywhere, holes, stairs to nothing...
I just wanted a hole for tossing in intruders...
I want a beer...
At this point the rest of the pages have visibly been tried to be eaten.
It seems the end of Reg was exactly the one he deserved
By the lack of views or replies I guess this wasn't interesting for the reader, or my writing skills just aren't what they used to be.
Reg's dead though, so I won't clog up space any more on the community thread board :p

Was entertaining for me, at least, and I hope that there's just one out there who enjoyed it

[Doomshifter]

I'm liking this so far! Good job! ^^

Edit: Dang, finished already? :3 Well, I wish it had've gone longer! I was too busy reading to reply.

[Ringmaster]

Hehe, is that the end? It would be amusing to see how much of a kill count Reg could get without actually doing anything, and it would be amusing to see a hermit challenge played out to the very end with just a single dwarf. Very entertaining, nicely done.

[Danarca]

Thanks, but yeah, it's done =/
I was digging a moat with a plate-triggered drop pit.
During the digging of the pit, he ended up at the bottom having a break, finally starving him...
Was pretty crazy re-designating a way for him to get up, and when he finally got to the surface he constantly had other priorities than getting a damn drink (Stockpile, harvest, brew) so he withered away, like all of his prisoners...
Looking in Legends 22 dwarves met their doom in Withercraze, only 2 died from something else than starvation or dehydration; 2 folks Olon killed.

Thanks for the kind words though

[darkflagrance]

This board is a bit slow...you should give it time before considering things a lost cause, I think.

I liked the premise and read the first two posts. I'll finish it when I wake up.

[Amalgam]

Aww....

But yeah, this board is probably slower than what you're used to. You've barely been running this a day! Even some of the 100-page giants on the forum started out like this. I like what you've written so far, and when playing hermit forts you'll often have to savescum a lot to keep your hermit alive. Save often - I always have [AUTOSAVE:SEASONAL] and [AUTOBACKUP:YES] in the init.

Although, that's very unusual for a dwarf to have a higher priority than eating and drinking, or at least I've never seen it. I've had a hermit that was slowly starving with plenty of fish on the map because she wouldn't stop hunting for vermin for food, but I've never seen this. You can try recruiting and un-recruiting him to cancel his break and disabling all his labors in the preference menu to eliminate most or all of those tasks.

[Danarca]

Didn't think of recruiting him, but I disabled all tasks after he prioritized 3 other tasks :p
I'll keep an autobackup next time so I'll have something to savescum from next time, I usually don't savescum ingame >.<