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[Kethas]

Earlier:

"Kethas, Kethas! Just the dwarf I wanted to see. Come on in." Bjorn waves me into his office cordially and gestures to a chair.

Bjorn, the Headdwarf of Settlement Affairs in my beloved kingdom of the Gears of Striking, is courteous in two situations: receiving bribes, and screwing over our nation's ever-shrinking supply of competent settlement managers. "This concerns the new efforts in the east, I assume?"

He nods eagerly. Leaning back into the second, slightly-smaller marble seat in the room feels remarkably like stepping squarely in a bear trap. "I see you've heard of them. Not the details yet, surely. After your work at Goldenboots the King is convinced you're the man for the job, though, and I wanted to bring you up to speed."

"Goldenboots failed when you sent three years' worth of caravans filled with caged kittens instead of the ale we requested. Sir." I square my face with his. Somehow I don't think the feeling of watching good dwarves die of thirst to the tune of mewling cats really filters back to the home office.

"Come now. The caravan guards said you were doing just fine and just needed some cute pets to brighten the mood." "The guards were also kittens. Sir."

He claps his hands happily. "Oh, you noticed! We thought a good laugh would be appreciated. Nothing at all to do with the decidedly underimpressive statue you sent to my lovely niece as a wedding present. Your good friend Urist sent one twice as large, with lovely silver accents. Nope, nothing at all." He smiles. I contemplate homicide. "The settlement, sir?"

He shuffles some papers and finds a recently-inked set of maps. "Our scouts have found a particularly interesting site at the far east end of the Oracular Lands. I'm sure you'll agree:"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

"There's a brook for irrigation, plenty of trees, and we're confident flux will be available for smelting. The scouts also confirmed a magma vent in the area."

"Isn't that a bit far? You really couldn't find anywhere closer for a decent town? What good would even a thriving city be that distant from the Mountainhome?"

His smile broadens. "I can't go into the details, but our scholars are convinced that settling there is in our strategic interests."

"... and didn't we try settling there years ago, never hearing from the caravan again, minus the one poor dwarf that showed up at our nearest outpost muttering nothing but 'zombie giant orc carp pikeman sasquatch gnomes'?"

His smile now stretches comfortably from ear to ear. "I can't go into the details, but our scholars are convinced that settling there is in our strategic interests."

I sigh and stand. Presumably, while not mandating as many puzzleboxes and mugs as they desire, the nobility picks settlement locations by tossing darts at a map. As I turn to start reviewing the colonist candidates, Bjorn tosses off, as an afterthought - "Oh, and my lovely nephew's marriage will be this Granite, you know, if you care to send a token of appreciation."

Tragically, if I beat him to a pulp, the hammerer would go after me.

- - - - -

After watching (and enjoying!) a lot of succession games here on the forum, I wanted to record and publish a game of mine as I went through it - if anyone would like to play a year, I'm all for it and will distribute the save; if not, hey, you all get to read a neat story anyway.

The only mod I use is the Orc one (specifically, Summer and Winter being the active seasons) along with Mayday's tileset. Zero savescumming, please, both from myself (at all) and from folks that volunteer to join (for the year they play) - it's a bad habit of mine I'm trying to break.

If anyone would like to adopt a dwarf, just let me know what nickname/profession/gender you'd prefer and we'll make it happen.

And with that, we rejoin Kethas, assembling his motley crew.

- - - - -

Earlier, but not quite as early:

Different settlers have different strategies. Some like to specialize their team in one industry to get trade or production up as quickly as possible. Others like to bring along a lot of multitasking dwarves and jump into many different production arenas from the start. Me? I like the basics:

• Iden Lolorosir, Miner
• Ushat Uzolbim, Woodcutter
• Udib Zulbanshorast, Carpenter
• Edzul Mengalath, Mason
• Kogan Etostmuthkat, Grower
• Lokum Lanlaratir, Brewer
• Udil Logematir, Cook

This way I can avoid worrying about whether I should be saving, say, logs for when an actual carpenter arrives, or squander the practice on a no-skill immigrant that I'll replace when an actual woodworker wants to immigrate - anything sustenance-related I can do whole-hog from the start.

And, like any good settlement manager, I embark with a wide variety of bits and scraps of gems, leather, cloth, and such junk, to sate the more emo members of our proud race when they get all moody:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I think that just about does it. My requests for something actually useful, like an armed escort or the latest Babies 2 Dwarves tapes, were rejected. As usual.

And we're off. Can't wait to see just what kind of carp-infested swamp we'll be digging into. Blasted carp. Blasted Bjork. Blasted kittens.

I've got a good feeling about this one, though. The Armored Hammer - we decided on a group name that would highlight both our dwarven stoutness and our love of stacking metal onto other, equally good metal - is trained, eager, willing, and ready. The destination has most of the natural resources we could ask for. The groundhog meat is fresh and the rum isn't. Worklovers could be my big break.

Or, you know, I could end up a tasty snack to a marauding zombie gibbon. Better make sure those entry doors are double-thick.

[Kethas]

201, 1st Granite, Early Spring:

After weeks of bumpy backcountry paths and dwindling provisions, we've finally arrived. Behold the majesty of soon-to-be-Worklovers in all her majestic, um, majesty:

http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/6121/worklovers15region12010.jpg
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/6193/worklovers16region12010.jpg
http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/8166/worklovers17region12010.jpg

I admit I've never led an expedition into actual, verified haunted territory [the mountain biome is Terrifying, in fact]. Looking around nervously, I don't see any slavering zombie elk.

Yet.

First, the good news: we do indeed have plenty of wood on site. We're going to have barrels 'n bins 'n beds aplenty. The magma vent isn't exposed, so we don't need to hustle to wall off the fire imps they so often hide (yet). The terrain is largely flat, which will simplify the construction of a curtain wall - eventually I'd like to secure most of the map for our fortress, with specified trading/migrant entrances. Finally, the brook's very convenient - the fanned-out tributaries to the south will be easy to include in a curtain wall for safe drinking and fishing.

Now the bad: again, the magma vent isn't exposed. Unless we bump into it by chance, we're going to have to hunt for it if we want to get magma furnaces online. With this much wood for charcoal, though, I'm not sure it's a big deal. Second, ... well, that's really it. I just hope we don't dig out a nice fort only to have the magma vent show up where the dining hall should be.

Speaking of nice digs, it looks like there's a good place to squeeze in a central stair column and surrounding rooms between pools in the forested area, for solid underground farming from the start:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Our resident gardening specialist is slavering at the idea of such huge farm plots being our first priority. We're going to bump into that obsidian cap two feet below the surface, I just know it.

For now I've set our priorities: clear out enough dirt to get our various belongings underground and start farming, dig deeper for just enough rock to get a cursory curtain wall around our fort entrance, and devote the rest of the season to lugging in as much wood as we can before summer (also known as Orc Siege Fun Time) starts. Here's hoping the local fauna are courteous enough to not pay us a visit until we have three feet of solid rock wall between us and them.

Random aside: screenshots while in fullscreen DF apparently give me pure black instead of the actual screen. Common problem?

[Kethas]

201, 25th Granite, Early Spring:

It looks like we're going to have to add a roof to that curtain wall.

"Whatever for?" asked our mason at the news. "You know that'll take up time I'd be spending building deluxe coffers and cabinets for our comfy bedrooms, right?" I pointed up.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I hope mountain goats look tastier than we do.

[Kethas]

201, 10 Slate, Mid-Spring:

Miners are usually exerting themselves pretty heavily. It's the nature of the beast. So when Iden caught me managing the stocks on the upper levels of the excavation, I wasn't terribly surprised to see him breathing hard.

"Kethas!" he panted between breaths. "You've got to see this!"

It's the middle of our first spring and already we've found something "urgent?" What, a cluster of cheap gems, or maybe an underground pool, or

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Oh. Oh my.

I suppose this is that "strategic importance" Bjork was talking about. We'll leave the cache alone for now. Honestly I'm not even sure we'll tell anyone just yet - our miners, well, our miner, isn't nearly trained enough to handle mining adamantine out reliably, and the last thing I want is some noble reassigning his pet expedition leader to Worklovers and taking me off what is suddenly my most promising gig ever when news spreads. The dwarves are good for it - they want to make the most of this sudden discovery just as much as I do. Work on the upcoming fort will continue, although now we'll have to modify our dig plans to largely leave the region northeast of the stair column alone.

[Kethas]

Iden almost smashed open another section of the adamantine vein when I wasn't looking. I'm going to have to micromanage the mining from here on out - the Mountainhome nobility would have my head on a pike if they learned we wasted a scrap of the stuff on the clumsy hands of a mediocre miner.

[Kethas]

201, 1st Hematite, Early Summer:

Well, our first season has passed and nobody's been devoured whole by the local fauna. I call that a good start. I'm actually quite pleased with our progress, our little secret excavation on the workshop level aside. Kogan's started up our underground farming in earnest, and as our little family includes a cook and brewer we should be able to outlast most any siege. We finished the (admittedly cramped) curtain wall with a few days to spare:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

We were also fortuitous in finding a pool of water close to our desired excavation site, so in the event of consecutive sieges we can boil off our alcohol into edible roasts and subsist off water for the duration.

... *snerk* Who am I kidding, at that point we'd be charging the besiegers with broken rum bottles in a drunken stupor. Never underestimate the power of dwarven spirits under the effects of dwarven spirits.

Despite the mason's best efforts, we haven't quite completed the entrance roof yet, so that giant eagle I see coasting above us and giving us the occasional evil eye is still a concern. Instead of separating us from the airy element entirely, though, I may leave a corner exposed and place cage traps. I'm not sure whether the eagle would fall for it, but a a captured Giant Eagle would be a treasure indeed. That and we could poke it with sticks.

Safety concerns aside, we really need to get working on our trading infrastructure. We're due for the summer human caravan soon and we're still working on our depot - let alone goods, unless the Men have developed a sudden interest in dirt and dwarven toe lint. Given the success of our farmer and subsequent crafts, meals seem like our best trading option at the moment. I'll get Udil working on extra stock to barter with our soon-to-be guests.

[Jarod Cain]

Oh wow, barely starting the excavation and you already hit the adamantine that is beautiful. Not sure if I want to take over yet or not, but I will adopt a dwarf at least. Give me the brewer and name him McKenzie.
-J-

[Kethas]

Give me the brewer and name him McKenzie.
-J-

IT SHALL BE DONE.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

One season in and you're already abusing your authority as nominal expedition leader to hit up the male dwarves, it seems. Scandalous. I'll have to make sure you get more hauling jobs.

I've given explicit instructions that no dwarf is to go aboveground during the summer (or winter) except to collect the wood harvested by our fearless woodcutter. Normally I'd simply shut us in entirely, but I think we can get everyone inside in time for a siege this way too.

Edit: What's up with the double name on the View Creature screen? It only happens there, not on, say, the List Units one.

[Kethas]

While continuing work on the curtain wall's ceiling, Edzul, our mason (and thrall of the notorious McKenzie), mentioned that obsidian stone was now available for construction purposes, along with the usual diorite and granite. "Oh good," I thought, "maybe we've zeroed in on the magma vent."

I hadn't noticed the entire northeast quarter of the site is obsidian. That'll really narrow it down.

201, 17th Hematite, Early Summer: None of the dwarves got around to installing the sentry dog's chain in the aboveground entranceway, they were all too busy hauling in the vast harvest of our woodcutter's axe. A kobold thief made it into the fort when it was spotted by our lone cat. Our miner's grumbling about the draft now but we have a lovely stack of kobold clothing. Oh, and a bloodsplattered central stair shaft.

I think that will suitably impress the Mountainhomes representative.

201, 22nd Hematite, Early Summer: The kobolds are nothing if not persistent. A second thief tried his luck with our entrance, but by then we had our sentry dog ready. The poor mutt now has a broken head, and the kobold managed to break the hand of Udib, our nearby carpenter, in his struggles. Nothing that won't heal, however - and Worklovers's stockpile remains secure.

Edzul, our mason, has developed the unfortunate habit of brief fainting spells, and upon inspect appears to have wounded his eye. I suspect one of the kobolds managed to injure him and can only hope it's a passing condition.

[Kethas]

201, 1st Limestone, Early Autumn:

I have to admit, Worklovers is starting to grow on me. Our farms are working splendidly, and we have a healthy surplus of both food and booze. (Tragically we never got a human caravan during the summer to trade, which partially explains our vast surplus. If Bjork "forgot" to inform our trading partners of our location I swear his nephew is getting a flaming booze barrel as a wedding gift.) We successfully fought off three kobold would-be thieves, at the cost of a narcoleptic mason, a watchdog with a broken skull, and various dwarves upset about my drafting policies.

At this point we have more wood than we know what to do with. I wonder what the elves would think of our chopping down trees, at this point, essentially just for giggles.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Iden Lolorosir, our miner, has reached truly legendary skill, so as of today I'll instruct him to mine out the odd isolated patch of adamantine if it interferes with our fortress plan. Showing him which parts of the lower levels to mine has become a true chore, as each time he exposes a new set of rock faces I need to re-review the designations. So far we haven't actually found any adamantine on the lower levels, where our bedrooms will eventually be - which is odd, as I thought adamantine veins tend to be primarily vertical - but it pays to be vigilant.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Our biggest immediate problem is morale - several of the dwarves are morose. I suspect it's a temporary issue that will abate once we set up individual bedrooms and start work on the central dining hall. Perhaps walking past the whimpering, lame guard dog each time they haul in a new set of logs isn't helping. Hrm.

[Ringmaster]

Can I have a turn (after Cain's)? This looks like it could get very interesting, and very fun.

[Kethas]

201, 11th Limestone, Early Autumn:

The dwarven resupply caravan arrived.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

If I were running a caravan through Terrifying territory, I'd want to show up nice and close to the settlement too.

I traded away most of our prepared meals, a couple thousand dwarfbucks' worth, for some animals, a handful of armor, leather, and all the gems they were carrying. We have enough plants on hand to cook it all up again shortly anyway, and I hate seeing artifact construction efforts fail. I requested more of the same from the liaison - armor, warhammers, cloth and leather, gems, pets, and drink. I'd escort him off the site but the worst we've seen so far, other than the one giant eagle, is some herds of relatively placid deer.

Udib, the carpenter with the kobold-broken hand, has taken up residence in our first bed and is resting his wound - leaving us with an enormous stockpile of lumber but no carpenter to use it. Figures. I had our miner moonlight to make a bucket so we can take care of Udib, but other than that we're probably fine while he recovers.

Can I have a turn (after Cain's)? This looks like it could get very interesting, and very fun.

That'd be perfect, actually, as I'm traveling tomorrow. Since Cain wasn't certain he wanted to do a year just yet I'll probably run to the end of 202 tonight and then pass you off the save.

[Kethas]

201, 6th of Timber, Late Autumn:

Our first immigration wave arrived today, including:

• a woodworker, with bowyer/woodcutter/carpenter
• a hunter, with marksdwarf/ambusher/wrestler
• a craftsdwarf, with weaver/glassmaker/leatherworker
• a farmer, with miller/milker/cook
• a brewer
• a lye maker

(We'll pretend the brewer has been here the entire time and I'll adopt him as a clerk. Don't tell anyone, it'll be our little secret.)

I'll put the woodworker to use as a bowyer - goodness knows we have the spare wood, and we can't be sure we'll get a weaponsmith soon for metal crossbows. Same with the farmer and Milling. None of the others are terribly useful currently, so I'll keep them as haulers for now.

[Kethas]

201, 13th Moonstone, Early Winter:

Well, winter is finally upon us and yet the fortress's growth continues unabated. At this rate we'll

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Oh.

A VILE FORCE OF DARKNESS, sixteen orcs total, decided to pay our little home a visit today. We lack any military to speak of; fortunately our curtain wall has been in place for a while and the orcs lack any means to get past our granite doors.

"She'll hold, sir," insisted Edzul the narcoleptic mason, staying awake long enough to finish his sentences. Actually, he's been sleeping normally recently - a shame we hadn't brought along a doctor for a better diagnosis. "Might want to tell the dogs not to pull the doorknob, though."

With our colonists safely inside, I suppose we'll devote this season to expanding our holdings instead of exploiting topside. Fortunately we still have access to fresh water for our wounded carpenter. This siege actually couldn't have come at a better time - with luck, the orcs will leave in time for us to receive the Elves' caravan in the spring.

I can hear the orcs grunting and shuffling about outside. Well, grunt all they like, the best defense is three solid feet of rock.

202, 1st Granite, Early Spring:

The entire settlement was cheered with the news that our carpenter's broken hand has finally set and healed. I'd feel sorry for shoving him right back into the workplace grind, but, well, he's been in bed dozing for the better part of last year. The first priority will definitely be barrels - our farm's production is such that plants and food have taken over all the barrels we've had, and McKenzie hasn't been able to brew much of anything recently. The murky pool topside looks dirtier every trip I take.

The orcs are still shuffling around outside our walls, but we're holding steady and I'm sure they'll give up eventually. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope they head out in time for the elven caravan - we have far more prepared meals than we know what to do with, and could use some cloth and animals.

[Kethas]

202, 22nd Slate, Mid-Spring:

Surely Armok considered Worklovers to be some twisted elaborate joke. Our dear ruler, Queen Zon Zimcog, arrived today disguised as a peasant, presumably drawn to the only settlement in the Kingdom with deposits of adamantite. Apparently word got out. To greet her, we have a grand total of eight beds, all claimed, a half-functioning dining hall, and nary an alcoholic beverage in the fort. I'm sure she'll be understanding - her courtesy and grace is the stuff of legends - but we really need to work on converting our fort from an excavation site into a proper dwelling.

Accompanying her were enough civilians to bring our settlement's count up to 34, nearly tripling us. We have plenty of food for all, but we really need to keep cranking our barrels for our brewer. Poor Udib's been working to make up for his underproductive year, but so far most have gone towards stacking up our excess farm produce. That should be under control shortly, though. I'm also glad we had the foresight to dig out a decent-sized bedroom level - most of those rooms will be used shortly.

In some perverse twist, we have a grand total of one craftsdwarf among those 34 - the one with generic training that arrived in the first immigration wave. I think I'll take one of the peasants aside and teach him some stonecrafting basics, as we really need something to trade other than our food.