Update first (finally, some fun!), followed by some character screens in the next post. And for the curious, I'm playing .31.04.
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Seasonal update--Winter 1051
This summer, we gathered to mourn the first casualty of this expedition. Let me tell you his tale.
Arni Naurloth was an ambitious and enthusiastic miner, even by Dwarven standards. He was never once discouraged by the region's inhospitable geology, and his perseverance soon became legendary. And it was he who proposed the ill-fated Aquifer Puncture Project.
It began well enough. We fashioned a water pump out of wooden parts and installed it without any problems. One of the immigrants was assigned to operate the pump while Arni delved deeper. The pump worked well enough, but a single pump was not enough to completely drain the chamber we dug out of the aquifer. The operator yelled at Arni to stop digging, but he persisted, and soon found himself deep underwater, with no route back to safety. By the time the operator was able to run to the main quarters for help, it was already too late.
To honor his achievements and sacrifice, we have commenced construction on the Arni Naurloth Memorial Dining Hall, based on one of Arni's own blueprints. It shall be shaped like a massive five-story stone cylinder, sunken partway into the earth, topped by a circular pane of glass. The tables will be placed on the ground floor and on an observation platform just below the glass ceiling. Additionally, this platform will be supported by a set of four winding staircases forming an enormous quadruple helix. It shall require a monumental effort, but it is the least we can do for our fallen brother.
It was only after we'd gotten over the initial shock of Arni's death that we realized that, along with Arni, we had lost the expedition's only mining pick. Fortunately, we were able to overcome this problem with a bit of Dwarven ingenuity. Using some metal bars that we had been planning on reserving for weaponsmithing, we constructed an emergency wood furnace and forge in the dining hall and still had just enough metal left over to forge a new pick. We promoted a lowly cheese maker to the position of new Head Miner, and we were once again ready to dig.
We have begun our aquifer project anew, this time with multiple pumps covering a wider area. Hopefully this new arrangement will sufficient to get us down to the valuable ores that surely lie beneath us. As of this writing, the last pump is nearly in place, and this time we will proceed with more caution.
On my rare visits to the surface, I have noticed a curious phenomenon. When we arrived here, there were many small, murky pools scattered across the area, all of which have since dried up. I don't know if this is an annual phenomenon, or if the land itself is somehow reacting to our presence here. I suppose we will have to wait and see.
We were recently visited by our outpost liaison, Urdim Trailtowns. Urdim, a burly axedwarf, was not pleased to see how little we had to offer in terms of trade. Captain Brunch tried to explain to him our recent difficulties, but Urdim would have nothing of it. In the end, the Captain wound up giving him some barrels of booze in exchange for a few metal bars, just to shut him up. I just hope we don't regret that decision once the winter sets in--not that it's likely to get any colder around here.
Hopefully by next year, we'll have produced enough trade goods to buy ourselves some livestock. Spartan, one of our recent immigrants, seems rather intent on starting a cheese empire. We shall see, Spartan, we shall see.
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Topic: A newbtastic community game (Read 2796 times)