I wandered toward my keep after slaying a giant, seeking the dwarf who had sent me after her in the first place.
[I looked up the name by going through old reports, and found in the "people" list that Dastot was the mayor of the Absolute Rock. I learned that this was the name of the group, not the location, and as such I couldn't find him on the map directly. And so...]
I wandered through several dwarven settlements, introducing myself to their mayors. In one case, I wandered into the drinking mound, and found out that this was the settlement ruled by "The Absolute Rock." I wandered to the castle mound, and it was empty save for a lone smith. So I wandered to the civic mound, and there was the mayor Dastot, of the same last name.
I mentioned to him that my comrade had slain the giant so and so, and he declared it inevitable. I guess that says something about my reputation. I followed up by asking him trading partners, and learned that this was one of the four sites that trades at my keep, the Perfect Bastion in Tangledholds. Keep that in mind for future reference...
While returning to The Perfect Bastion, I stumbled across a lair. Inside, I found a peasant. A lycanthrope [almost certainly]? I didn't feel like waiting around to wait for him to transform, but I didn't want to leave him there. What will I do...
I know, I'll make him a hearthperson!
[I've never actually found any of my hearthpeople, about four so far, loitering in my keep, os I assume this is a fairly safe option? It'll be interesting at any rate.]
I then went back to the local tavern and bragged of our recent exploits. I asked the barkeep if there were any troubles and learned of a bandit camp far to the west, across the inland sea. Well, I haven't explored that region of the world yet. Why not?