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[Indricotherium]

What you managed is still awesome, Battlecat.

Thanks again for the hard work of not only running this fort but the work on the write-ups!

[Syntic]

I would have to say that with the detail of the write ups that you do, along with your willingness to try suggestions from other people has provided a whole bunch of play details that more chaotic players might have never even noticed. Heck even players that control there dwarfs very carefully might not have noticed some things simply because they themselves would have never thought of it.

It's interesting seeing how you've developed a way of playing that involves multiple people, yet doesn't just boil down into struggling to keep the place alive because someone thought it would be fun to open up "fun" stuff building a single bed.

[Battlecat]

Cog’s Journal, 5th of Granite, 323

Apparently Omen was acting unruly today.  His anguish at the loss of his pets in the last siege was too much and he picked a fight with Lars.  Nobody was hurt but of course that’s disorderly conduct which means Syntic took a moment to apply a beating.  Thank the gods I took his weapons away, Omen is uninjured, just a bit miserable. 

I hope he doesn’t flip out again. 

Cog’s Journal, 27th of Granite, 323

The big project for this month is running power from the main control column over to the dining hall.  In the long run this will also bring power to the pumps at the front gate but for now it’s time to get the water feature operating!  The fortress mechanics have been bored lately, although Scaraban seems to always be puttering on something.

The miners are busy acquiring another king’s ransom in adamantine.  Our supply is growing quickly, actually faster than we can convert it into wafers.   

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Cog’s Journal, 6th of Slate, 323

I’ve laid out the design for the first in our series of adamantine defenses.  I know the legends of unstoppable legions but even those creatures cannot burrow through solid rock.  At least I hope not!  Knowing that, I’m establishing a series of 6 major deadfall traps that can be reforged using obsidian factory technology. 

This image shows the deadfall system from above.  The three smaller ones are part of a temporary access tunnel to improve the speed of access to the area until an emergency occurs.  They will be sealed rapidly after or during evacuation, forcing any invaders to take the long way.  The controls for this system will be placed in the room closest to the statue garden. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

More importantly, each one will be triggered independently so we can cut off the overwhelming forces while still giving the military a chance to fight whatever may attack from the depths.  Derm would have my head if I didn’t give him a chance at this glory.  I’m putting a moratorium on additional adamantine mining for the moment while we establish a bit of security for the future. 

OOC: Getting things set up for the fun now!  It’ll still be a couple years until I breech it though. 

@Indricotherium: Thanks very kindly, I always enjoy feedback and I try to keep it interesting!  Indri is still gathering epic quantities of silk by the way.  We have 194 GCS silk cloth and 368 basic cave spider silk cloth.  I really hope the issue of dwarves using new clothing is fixed soon!  I’ve had him occasionally crafting simple clothing just for fun.

@Syntic: Thank you very much!  The suggestions are a huge part of the fortress and they’ve added great things.  The hardest part is there are many ideas I want to implement that I still haven’t had enough dwarf power to take care of yet! 

[Triaxx2]

Triaxx definitely wants to be sealed in his tower before the fun starts.

How much power does the linkage from the power system to the water feature use?

[Syntic]

Just curious if you are willing to peek at an alternate reality of the fortress (IE back up your world, try something and then revert to the back up).

We all know how Derm is completely bad-ass. But many of the military dwarfs have trained nearly as much as he has, and just haven't made a name for themselves through sheer force of will like Derm. So perhaps we could see what would happen if one of the highly trained dwarfs and Derm went head to head. (Heck and if he wins that easily see if he can take on two of the remaining highly trained dwarfs at once.)

I mean with Derm cutting through monsters so easily, we don't really have a way to measure his strength anymore. That is unless we find out how many dwarfs Derm can bench press at one time. If we did that we could then define Derm as a unit of measurement. It would of course be used to measure how strong a dwarf army is. For instance someone could say, "That army over there is 5 Derms strong" and we would know through scientific measurement that the army had either 50 highly trained dwarfs in it, or 4 legondary Dwarfs and 20 decently trained people. The Derm measurement as you can see wouldn't tell you how big the army is, but how much damage the army could do. It would also be used to measure the safety of a fortress, as in "Oh crap that army is 5 Derms strong, but my army would have a hard time defending against one Derm. They consider it a huge victory to survive invasions that are so week they don't even rate a single Derm"

[Dermonster]

I am now a unit of measurement. ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED! 1000000 Lifescore!

[kisame12794]

Wow...

[Triaxx2]

It is however, sadly, not a recurring achievement like getting laid, which is worth a mere 1,000 Lifescore points. It also can't be comboed, or super comboed, earning 2x or more points at a time.

Mining super project idea. Find a location on the map and carve Towersoared into the ground in cursive script. Bonus points for then filling it in with blocks of something high contrast, like Microcline, or Basalt. (Don't recall what we've got in glorious abundance so...) Double bonus for filling it with water, and calling it Lake Towersoared. Triple Bonus for filling with Magma and calling it Towersoared trash, and goblin disposal.

[Thatdude]

@Battlecat
The views you showed were more than satisfactory. Seriously, very great work. If only I had the effort and dedication to do things like this in my own games 

[Battlecat]

OOC: I'll be away this weekend so no update until Tuesday at the earliest, but I didn't want to leave your comments hanging all weekend!

@Triaxx2: I'll make sure you hide away in your bolt hole.  I'll also make sure it's fully stocked before that happens.  I like the idea you just posted as well.  Maybe up in the hills above the main fortress, I'll have to check how many pixels it'll take to make it look good.

@Syntic: Interesting idea, I like it!  I'll run some tests in the next week or two and let you know the results in a later update! 

@dermonster: Well, let's see how much it measure out to first.  :-D

@Thatdude: Thanks kindly!  I really want to see the full fortress overview in Stonesense.  I'm sure it'll be fixed someday.

[ushilzagith]

I am back and reading the thread with interest. Currently at page 51. Expect Adker's journal, possibly in possession of one of his kids if he has died at some point.

[Triaxx2]

I blame Hollywood.

[Argonnek]

Who doesn't?

[Triaxx2]

Hey, awesome. I'm a real celeb now.

[ushilzagith]

Page 67 now. I've decided to post what I've already got:

Excerpts from the journal of Adker Rithasas, Marksdwarf

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

4th of Hematite, 312
The big dining hall flooded, but it was done on purpose, so everything is OK, or so I told my kids.

7th of Malachite: 312
A big cave so deep I thought it would be magma by then was diskov discova found! Mr Cog is sending Derm to look aruand.

25th of Malachite, 312
Asmel the hammerdwarf made a bone shield out of a horse. People are comeplanening that it has no deka deco ingravings in it, but he just said that it is harder this way, which I think is right. My little Osodnil is also happy since this means that the bone hammer is also better than one with pretty pictures that will break easy.

20th of Limestone, 312
Both Osodnil’s hammer and the shield are used by the leader of the hammerdwarfs! They are rally prized.

6th of Timber, 312
Derm the Soulchoper found adamanitium! Amazeng! I thougt this was only legednary! I want to see it, but am a little afraid – it is in the super deep cave.

19th of Timber, 312
There was a big fight! I shot at goblins and trolls, but the axdwarfs and swordsdwarfs killed them all so quick I did not kill anybody today. It was still exiting!

20th of Opal, 312
Nothing much is happening, only Lor is very pregnant now! She is still working tho, since she says we need to be proprer dwarves and not get kicked out of our rooms. I don’t think that will happen since even kids get rooms, but maybe she is right.

9rd of Granite, 312
I have four kids now! We named her Kubuk Atisnicat. I wanted to put a bit of my name in hers but Lor said no a lot and looked angry.

25th of Galena, 312
Derm is in the hospital! I heard a champion trogolodit chopped his hand off! Are we under attack by them? Should I hav written over attack since they are comeing from below?

26th of Galena, 312
Never mind. He just got a thumb injury in a fall. Still, makes me worry.

23rd of Slate, 312
Wow! The new entry hall is amazeing and pretty! Isn’t it too big though? What if dragons fly in?

The next two pages are torn out, with only scraps remaining. Of the third page, enough remains to read:

13rd of Opal, 312
Derm fought another great monster deep underground! It was made
I wouldn’t believe these storeys if I hadn’t seen him fig

On the turn, there is slightly less legible text. Beyond that, more torn pages.

 h of Hematite, 31
19th of Timber, 31
The hammerdwarf who got Os
I think it was Rifotagrir, but I’m pro

13rd of Limestone, 314
Another forgotten monster! This one is made of fire and called Odna. Derm really wants to fight it (or her?) What I want to know is how we know their names if they are forgotten?

15th of Limestone, 314
Another one! This one is called Gogol and people say it can bread fire and has no eyes, even thou no one has seen it. I am really curios now.

21st of Limestone, 314
I found a book and got to borrow it! Aparenally it seems these monsters are only called forgotten, because most of them are, but many are known by schoolars and Gogol is one of them. This is very interesting, but hard to read. There is nothing better to do since Derm is handeling so much of the fighting thou so I will read.

2nd of Sandstone, 314
Derm killed the fire monster quickly, or at least that’s what people say. He is still climbing up thouh.

I am comparing the book to my diary and it looks like I sometimes make mistakes. I got to learn to write better.

20th of Sandstone, 314
I’ve been facinated with these monsters, and now must pay the price and fight Gogol. Hopefully this one is as dumb as Stibmer. We have been waiting here for sevral weeks (I think, don’t know how many for sure since there’s no sun underground), but still don’t know where the monster is. I am bored.

27th of Sandstone, 314
Dodok killed this one! Just went out the door and shot Gogol between the eyes. She is very brave, but a little crazy. But a little crazy is good, I think. Many people say Mr Cog is crazy, but he’s done amazening things.

2nd of Moonstone, 314
Vucar and Asmel have fifteen kids now! Timber was quiet, so I have been reading more. I finished the book about known forgotten beasts.

17nd of Obsidian, 314
Just when things were getting quiet, there is talk of another forgotten beast! This one was not from any book, but we are calling it Moslo. The books say that the dusty monsters are the worst and the crazy cave hermit’s message says this one is dusty. I don’t know how bad dust can be, it shouldn’t be worse than gas, right?

2nd of Granite, 315
We selecelebrated new years in the old prision. This was hardly fun, but at least our band of marksdwarfs are mostly jolly lads and ladies. I have practiced my shots a lot more since the fight with Stibmer, so I should be more useful this time. We are not in jail, just waiting for Moslo, because dust is too dangerous even for Derm.

5th of Granite, 315
I was in the right place at the right time! I shot and killed Moslo! It did not look to creepy, just a giant salami salmand sally... I shall have to look how that is written some day. A big lizard-frog-thing with those funny things bugs have (what are those called again? Ant Ends? Can’t remember.) on its head.

It was so damn quick though! I was really worried, the others too I think. It jumped on the shore and ran for us. I was about to run away, but then I thought of my family and the shame this would bring them, so I tried to stop the monster by shooting it in the leg. It did not stop, so I consintrated and shot the head, hoping to get as lucky as Dodok got with Gogol. I shot it between those ant endy things and it just died. Nothing (except a giant made of some metal, I think) can survive a hole in the head. Later on, I saw that even vermin who came close to the corpse just died because of the dust of death, so I guess it shall have to wait before it can be turned into something useful. I feel so inkredebly good.

9th of Granite, 315
All the kids have their own rooms! This fortress is so huge and has so few people it really seems empty most of the time. I’m used to it, but the one time I talked to a merchant’s guard, she was really surprised we have this much room.

Also, Moslo was a giant salamander, not a salami (I think salami is some animal humans eat). Those things on its head are antenna, not ant ends (although ants have antenna, so I guess maybe that’s where the word comes from?)

I will have to remember this. Salamander salamander salamander antenna antenna antenna

Maybe we could farm salami? Humans seem to like trading with us more than mountainhome dwarves. I shall ask Lor.

10th of Granite, 315
Moslo the giant salamander with antennas that are not really like those of ants is being buchered. The corpse is safe for work now.

9th of Slate, 315
Buchering Moslo took a whole month! I’ve been mostly resting and celebrating this time.

16th of Slate, 315
Thob Adilkod’s 12th birthday! He is a real dwarf now. It’s party time again!

28th of Slate, 315
Migrants! People are very exited, since no one has come here in years. We don’t need them though. Still, we have so much room here. Maybe there is someone nice among them. I am actually a migrant as well, but I’ve lived here for years. I would probably be a ghast if I had to sleep in a tiny room barely big enough to stand in next to a bed if I got a chest.

3rd of Hematite, 315
I’ve met Ezum Lorbamsebir before. She made me a bit uneasy, crawling calmly despite being crippled by the cold. She is well now though. She just stood up, among half the populace, in the dining hall! Amazing. Even Mr Cog was heard calling it a miracle.

Felsite was uneventful. I’ve been looking for more books, especially on titans, forgotten beasts and other strange monsters. I have looked at my first few entries in the diary. They are absolutely appalling!

13rd of Hematite, 315
The lake where our fresh water came from has dried up. That’s some very bad news. We do live in a desert. If our fortress dies to lack of water, Mr Cog’s enemies will surely have a laugh in the Mountainhomes.

25th of Hematite, 315
Another monster was sighted in the deepest caves. That’s so far below, most people did not hear about it for several days. If this one really is a giant lobster, it might be Siniti Esagarinowe. That’s a pretty famous monster according to one book – it wiped out the whole militia of a settlement someone was trying to make in the north. I hope we are careful and send a squad of vetrans to fight. Still, at least it only makes webs and not some deadly gas.

Also, Dodok (the Dodok who killed Gogol, not the Dodok who killed Stibmer) changed her name. She wants to be known as Thatdude. This is really taking a joke too far, especially since dude means ‘man’ in that one silly human language, I think.

6th of Malachite, 315
Derm is fighting Siniti alone. That’s foolhardy, but no one dares to argue. Derm was given to pieces of artefact armour, but neither was an actual suit of plate mail.

13th of Malachite, 315
Never mind. This was a tough fight, but Derm still won. Also, the trench which is supposed to keep goblins out is almost complete. This is no longer even a beautiful town – I live in a fortress containing the most wonderous town this word has ever seen.

5th of Galena, 315
Amazing! The fortress is still expanding. Looks like the great stairwell is actually the centre of the fortress, not the dining hall which I thought was the most important bit for a very long time. Even Lor is happy with the new structures. She is still only a planter, but food is incredibly important as well.

11th of Limestone, 315
Another giant monster! This one is a flying leech who breathes fire. Leeches should not be that deadly, but this one is not in any book I’ve read, so maybe it has more tricks than we know. Derm wants to fight it alone. What a surprise.

14th of Limestone, 315
Derm beat this monster too, easily even. We had named it Conibo, as is tradition when discovering a unique monster. Seems a bit useless, if they all die quick.

15th of Limestone, 315
A hauler named Zon Zuntiruzlir is crafting something interesting. There is nothing too interesting going on, an odd statement given that a great monster was slain just a couple days ago. We are growing complacent, I fear.

8th of Sandstone, 315
Zon finished his work, a leather headscarf. It certainly looks impressiv.

14th of Sandstone, 315
Another forgotten beast, this one reportedly called Rene Ciquoliaqua. I’ve seen that name before, I think. I must remember.

15th of Sandstone, 315
I’ve got it! This one is not unique, not precisely. It is a giant flaming horror which was spawned when its predecessor...

16th of Sandstone, 315
I am back and I was right! Rene Ciquoliaqua was the name of one of the twin creatures which emerged from the corpse of the original Ciquoliaqua, which fought the warband of the human adventurer Guy Randam, a one-time ally of Gustem Stocadesummit herself. It is said that most of them died when the beast exploded in a shower of flaming oil when one of Guy’s companions speared it. The survivors documented two tiny spawn fleeing from the corpse.

Like the mother (or father, I don’t understand how ticks, let alone flaming ticks work), this one burst immedeatly, I just had to score a good hit and that was one big target. None of the flames reached me and if Rene had some spawn, they did not survive falling into water at this early an age. Even if Edith comes looking for revenge, our marksdwarves are smarter than any human spearman!

10th of Moonstone, 315
Timber was uneventful, except my small personal celebrations. I need to know more about those beasts! Maybe I should compose a full list once I write well enough and have time?

22nd of Moonstone, 315
Another beast. This cavern has more than any doceme documanted! This one is Athnir Milolstoseth. Not very famous, but was once spotted hunting a tribe of mole people by some adventurer, who made a good account. There can’t be too many two-tailed green-feathered scorpions, right?

24nd of Moonstone, 315
Someone captured a giant spider. Does this mean a silk farm?

28nd of Moonstone, 315
So, apparently, Athnir Milolstoseth was no mere joke. Derm nearly died due to this creature. It was certainly smart, if Derm’s tale is even half true, smarter than Stibmer or any beast we’ve had so far.

5th of Opal, 315
Mr Cog the great architect married the Boneminer, one of the original migrants to this place. They have worked together for fourteen years. I must admit, I was expecting a more grandiose party, given Cog Sakzulobur’s impressive buildings.

25th of Opal, 315
After a quiet couple of weeks, I hear that we have a noble. This place is a barony now. I am a little exited. If Cog made all this for us simple folk, what would be his idea of a palace? Also, an amulet was finished, Gerig Lolor. It is quite impressive, with an exquisite engraving of Catten the Boneminer. This will all surely please our architect and spiritual leader. Why we have such a love for Gustem Stocadesummit as opposed to a dwarven hero in this region though, I will never understand.

27th of Opal, 315
More good news! Omen Egencog, the second child to be born in this fortress, is now of age. I hear he wants to be a warrior.

7th of Obsidian, 315
The old glassworks was shut down, the new one in the great industral compleks active! I think Towersoared is almost complete!

20th of Obsidian, 315
A week before the new year, and we are attacked. The melee soldiers say these goblins are bigger. Some people think they are growing. Can they even do that?

1st of Granite, 316
Well. Yesterday was interesting. The baron said some nice words, but he is obviously not a great public speaker. Maybe he’s a great war leader? Mr Cog also talked about what he plans to do. It seems that the next part of Towersoared will be the new military structures, including guard towers! That will be interesting, not that we need more with the champions we have among ourselves now. I migt might still rely on lucky shots, but Catten suprass surpass did better than Derm during the last battle.

15st of Slate, 316
Granite was boring, perhaps luckily. Still, I would hope to see more odd creatures. It would be so grand if we caught one or two for our fortess. There was some fighting against some crundles (what are those anyway? I should read.) in the deeps two days ago and our new baron enraged yesterday evening, but that was mostly just a reminder that his rooms are still uncomplete. I am surprised, but that’s probably just Mr Cog not officially opening anything which isn’t perfect.

27st of Slate, 316
Nothing interesting happening. Apparently, crundles are some weird ball-people.

20th of Felsite, 316
Another battle outside, nothing interesting really. Just goblins to be killed. Maybe I just don’t see them as a threat. I doubt anyone of us does.

8th of Hematite, 316
Apparently, there was a military reorganisiation, with Derm’s old squad replaced by three hammerdwarves. Strange. I don’t know if I like that.

19th of Hematite, 316
The nightwing in the pyramid got loose! I hadn’t even thought of that monster for a very long time, but apparently it got loose. It was going after the dwarves building the magma-cooling-building and our squad reached it first! We all shot it and nearly everyone hit. I got it right in the head with a perfect shot. This was not nearly as important as some monster from a legend, but this was a much smaller target, so I must be getting pretty good!

23rd of Hematite, 316
Apparently, the building of the glassworks reles released the nightwing. Not really important, I think, unless we want to put something more dangerous in that glass pyramid. Even then, I hear those mechanisms were very old, so new ones would probably be safe even if there was an earth quake. Also, there is a new beast underground, apparently. Named Tabmik, I guess.

24th of Hematite, 316
Tabmik Ngathsehoceg! There must be some info about it somewhere!

27t h of Hematite, 316
This monster was once spotted and hunted by a dwarven adventurer, who could not stand the stink. Apparently, it is a blob of grime so horrible its smell is poison even to a dwarf!

1st of Malachite, 316
There is an ettin on the surface! A two headed giant. I am sure Derm or Catten or any veteran we have can handle that one. Will we get to hunt Tabmik Ngathsehoceg, I wonder?

3rd of Malachite, 316
Derm killed the ettin yesterday. Not really news.

16th of Malachite, 316
That miner who disappeared came back, claiming that for him, only seconds went by while we had years of time. Interesting, but scary.

15th of Galena, 316
We have an artefact-quality bow. I am surprised we even make bows, but I guess knowing how to make a bow is part of knowing how to make a crossbow.

4th of Timber, 316
I was bored and tried to read early parts of my diary. I was so stupid back then! I did not understand most things and wrote down inane shit! I started tearing pages out, but stopped myself. The pages I tore apart are worthless now, but I must be able to see how much I have improved. I can still do better.

20th of Timber, 316
Another forgotten beast! This one is not in any records we know of, really a forgotten one this time. The people who spotted it are calling it Ana. A thin giant leech, with feathers. Should not be too hard for our warriors. Most likely, Derm will fight this one. Tabmik Ngathsehoceg is still alive, practically in control of the deeper caves.

4th of Moonstone, 316
Derm claims to have punched Ana to death. Is he exagerrating? I hope so! Otherwise it would be too scary. He does not really like anyone, I think, so if he wants to kill all of us, we are in great danger.

8th of Moonstone, 316
I decided to draw the beasts we have seen. I am horrible at that though. They look weird and bad. I mean, they were horrible and weird, but not this way.

The following pages feature some low-quality sketches, with one or two notes stuck between them, such as:

28th of Moonstone, 316
The markswarf called Thatdude fought some mushroom people yesterday. Apparently, they don’t feel pain and don’t have any weaknesses that bolts can pierce. I wonder if filth blobs like Tabmik are any different. If that thing lacks a brain, what shall I aim at?

24th of Obsidian, 316
Thatdude was the first one at the scene when Tabmik Ngathsehoceg finally wandered into Mr Cog’s brilliant trap and, as seems to be the norm for our squad by now, killed the monster with one well-placed shot. Who would be willing to clean up that horbible horrible mess, I will never know.

1st of Granite, 317
Another new years party. The speech was not really all that interesting, to be honest. Mostly, Mr Cog just talked about his completed and planned projects. I guess he has the right, being the founder and all. They certainly are imre impressive even after living among them for years, but I’d like a wider prespective. At least this year, Mr Cog took on other projects from other dwarfs.

23rd of Granite, 317
This month has been rather boring. The high poing was Dodok ‘Thatdude’ naming her crossbow Olumfashuk earlier today. She has as many forgotten beast kills as I do and more goblins, so she’s entitled, I think. Also, I think the magma factory thing is ready. Hopefully, it will not kill us all.

20th of Slate, 317
The obsidian plant is still technically not on, but it now has both water and lava in it. What do we need obsidian for anyway, I wonder?

23rd of Slate, 317
A new forgotten beast! Eslul, I think. I don’t think we have any records about it, but since it’s just a huge tick, it’s not probably that dangerous. They often gorge on blood and stuff so much that one good shot can kill them – that’s how I beat the fiery one.

4th of Felsite, 317
Derm killed this monster by chopping legs off until it bled out.
The rest of the page is filled with an adequately sketched diagram of a giant tick.

6th of Hematite, 317
Today was a horrible day. Avuz Bomreklolok, my youngest son, died. Avuz pulled some string that was caught between a door and its frame and the door burst open, flooding the room. I am glad I did not lose two kids today... I’ve told them so often that they should keep away from machinery, but children do as they please. I blame the builders. How did they leave such a perilous place open to access and so easy to cause death?! I need to break something...

8th of Hematite, 317
At least Avuz was buried in the new mausoleum, so we won’t have to disturb his final rest. Lor is still angry, decrying Mr Cog himself for the shoddy planning. Cog has closed the pump building for civilians, but that’s too little too late.

26th of Hematite, 317
Another child dead, this one of Asmel and Vucar. She fell off one of the great stairwells. Maybe Lor was right – Cog’s designs are so ambitious, he does not manage to keep them safe.

17th of Galena, 317
The obsidian factory works. Cog is incredibly happy, but I’ve been talking with Lor about that a lot. Maybe the architect is too crazy and driven to those projects. Our homes are luxurious, but only to spite the count. So many structures are unsafe. There is open magma everywhere, even in the dining room where we hold drinking contests. That magma is supposed to protect statues from dwarves!

As for the dining room, I overheard four dwarves, the ones appointed to Derm’s squad, talking about their latest fight. Despite their steel weapons and armour, at least one, Bennet I think, considers biting a valid tactic.

20th of Galena, 317
Another giant tick! This one is purple and has three eyes, but is otherwise very similar to Eslul. Perhaps it’s a child?

3rd of Limestone, 317
Derm killed this giant tick as well, reportedly in the water. At least we are safe from monsters and goblins, if not the fortress itself.

13th of Limestone, 317
They are removing the defensive wall, because it is not grandiose enough! I’ve doubted Lor’s insistence that Cog will doom us with his vanity, but maybe she is right. I can hold my own long enough to keep goblins and their like away, but the civilians are doomed unless warriors just happen to be nearby! I guess we have that trench, but goblins might climb in and can easily get out! I must be vigilant these next days.

15th of Limestone, 317
There was some commotion regarding amulets in the caravan. The count mandated they not be traded to non-dwarves, I think. I did not pay that much attention to the human caravan, short of checking for nearby goblin thieves.

29th of Limestone, 317
Our sheriff is no better than the bogeyman hammerers of the tales from my youth! When some people were jailed due to that insignificant paperwork mixup with the amulets, he killed Kogan the glassmaker and Zan Limulzest! He used a pick on them! To think, I believed this keep to be a paradise only a few months ago.

15th of Timber, 317
A goblin attack! I knew it, just when the old wall is removed, but before we start on the new one! Even I know that we build the new walls before we knock down old ones, or leave the old walls standing regardless. The goblins were numerous, but easily dealt with due to our experienced soldiers. I did not score any kills though. One dwarf, a relatively new recruit named Ahra, was wounded in battle, but she’ll live.

27th of Timber, 317
We are mining adamantium! This has always ended in chaos and turmoil, if not destruction of an entire fortress. I can no longer pretend to make excuses for Cog’s greed and ego, but everyone seems to love him, at least openly. I dare not speak out – they would smash a pick into my head. I could probably kill Syntic in a fair fight, but if the melee warriors side with Cog, I would be dead as dead can be.

4th of Opal, 317
Another forgotten beast, this one a titanic eagle with the mouth of an insect. It’s called Damid Nunurnalthsih and it belches clouds of poisonous gas! This one is also for us marksdwarves. I think Thatdude wants to pull forwards. I am more concerned with ensuring that nothing attacks us from the topside, so she can kill that one. I recently heard a rumour that Thatdude is actually a human male name. Strange.

20th of Opal, 317
The beast might get in through the tower being built for Tri-axe. What did he do to deserve a personal tower, I can’t even remember. We are preparing for the worst. The beast is listed in an old dusty book, but there’s sadly no history written down for it.

22nd of Opal, 317
The masons bricked up the tower entrance. One crisis averted.

25th of Opal, 317
Another forgotten beast! It’s a beardless dwarfoid composed of salt! It would be interesting to see that fight a giant slug monster... That one is again not in any records we have. We’re calling it Ab. A more complex name is redundant – it will die soon.

26th of Opal, 317
Derm killed Ab in two hits. My money was on three. Ah well.

18th of Opal, 317
Another goblin attack! I did right when I returned to the surface as soon as I heard the masons had bricked up that backwards tower (rewot?) We are waiting for them to try their usual head-on rush. Hopefully, they will not try to climb around.

23rd of Opal, 317
I did not score any kills, again. We did not lose anybody either though. It was a pretty large fight though, with dozens of dead goblins.

1st of Granite, 318
So. The building of the fortress wall was delayed so we could start on the new year. That was brilliant. That, was sarac sarcasm. I am glad our military is good enough to take care of goblins even in such a state. Cog’s speech this year was nothing special, but at least he did not pretend nothing went wrong.

21st of Granite, 318
Thatdude killed Damid Nunurnalthsih, the dread bird monster. Her first shot was the best one, as it tends to be for us marksdwarves. The creature fell into the water below, from where the deadly gas was useless. This one was a dangerous foe still, especially after she ran out of bolts and was reduced to kicking and using the crossbow as a make shift hammer.

1st of Slate, 318
They are mining adamantium, again. I sure hope the miners are more cautious than the rest of us.

15th of Slate, 318
Another forgotten beast, this one a hairly pink moth that hermit, Comp, is calling Amsir. There are some stories about that one, they say, but none I’ve read of. Still, there are far more monsters who no one has heard of, so some not in the books but in some tales makes sense.

18th of Slate, 318
Despite the fiery breath, Derm wanted to fight this one. Surprisingly, this was an easy fight – this monster was apparently so used to winning due to fire and size alone that a truly formidable enemy just tore through it.

19th of Felsite, 318
I knew it! The obsidian plant went wrong, nearly killing a mason, Litast something. Luckily the count saved the workers by keeping his head cool and closing the hatches. Much of the already made obsidian was lost though. Cog is trying to prevent this happening again, but magma is never safe.

23rd of Malachite, 318
A new artefact was crafted, this one a weapon rack with the image of a goblin. Why a goblin? So that we’d know what to aim the weapons at?

20rd of Galena, 318
Some human traders, some goblins. Same old. I’ll start drawing again, I think.

There are sketches of some more monsters on the following pages. Not all of them are bad.

24th of Moonstone, 318
We are now a duchy! This calls for a celebration! Also, we have our first adamantium item, a figurine of the beloved human hero Gustem Stockadesummit.

18th of Opal, 318
The duke has ordered for four dwarves’ imprisonment for our merchants yet again selling off amulets. Why were Sazir and Thatdude jailed? They are my squadmates and good dwarves. That must have been a mistake.

1st of Granite, 319
Well diary, it’s the new year again. Cog had a better speech today, mentioning that the dwarves punished for the sale of those amulets were not the culprits (why was the broker not in there? Seems like someone messed with the paperwork.) He boasted that the obsidian factory is done, but only mentioned that we still don’t have a proper wall, instead having to make due with a crude trench which does not even have water (much less magma) in it.

15th of Granite, 319
I heard the duke complain about rats in the cages in his room. Is this a prank, or does Cog or someone have some obsession with those filthy things and thout thought it a fitting tribute?

15th of Felsite, 319
The duke has another child. This should take his mind off the rats. That’s probably the broker or Cog’s way of getting back at him because that they don’t get to sell amulets. We have so much wealth though, do we really need to trade for anything?

3rd of Hematite, 319
A kobold got into the fortress due to our lack of a wall! Luckily, Bennet, the hammerdwarf, killed it.

Several more sketches are included, including those of a kobold and a goblin.

6th of Galena, 319
Another poisonous forgotten beast! Classified by Sanene Sifina Caverni by one of the authors of one of the finest books on titans and forgotten beasts ever written by a human, this giant salamander monster is said to be incredibly dangerous. Given how Thatdude defeated a poisonous bird, I am not all that worried, however.

Again, the following entries are of little interest. Some are about his children, some merely doodles.

16th of Limestone, 319
An adamantine masterwork! I am exited, even though I am still worried. This one will go to Derm, but eventually, we might all have some. Then again, we will eventually die to horrible monsters from the beyond.

9th of Sandstone, 319
More trading. This time there were no amulets in the shipments, so the duke did not have an excuse to have the broker jailed. At least this means that Cog will not be moving that sentence to some poor innocent like that deluded weaver.

22nd of Sandstone, 319
More forgotten beasts. This one is a giant beakdog-like thing, with a many-jawed mouth that Comp is calling Sared. I don’t know if some explorer has given it a more official name. We probably never will. With our leaders trying to out-trick each other, the beasts are now grouping together. Perhaps an outing of the entire military, or at least two squads, would do the trick? Thatdude is now out, angry at the duke so we could take them if we worked as a team. The wall is finally being focused on outside, so marksdwarves are no longer essential on the outside.

23rd of Sandstone, 319
Never mind. That was a dream. Strange. It felt so real.

Maybe it was a prophetic dream? There is a new monster. Not the one I saw, one that Comp recognizes as Bumal Rotik Ralath, a feathered serpent. This one is very similar to the Sanene Sifina Caverni, come to think of it. I think the tales say that this monster can cause confusion and strange dreams simply by its presence, so maybe by dream was that thing’s fault?

7th of Timber, 319
Some lunatic is raving about our fortress being doomed when Derm dies. Even if he would lose, we still have Catten and a dozen other skilled dwarves. That’s probably just the effect Bumal Rotik Ralath is having on everyone intensified on that poor fool.

15th of Timber, 319
There are more masons on the surface now. Apparently, they were making that upside-down tower for that Triaxx. Do I even know the guy? Is he some noble I’ve never heard of?

15th of Opal, 319
Again, the pumps and power supply have some problem. At least no one died this time. As is usual, Cog is blaming the workers for pulling the wrong switches, instead of taking any blame on himself.

8th of Obsidian, 319
Derm has now been given an full set of adamantine equipment. Obviously, he wishes to fight, ignoring the prophesy.

19th of Obsidian, 319
Derm was lucky yet again. The beast with the poisonous breath tried to use that underwater, where such powers are apparently useless. The monsters were given no quarter, no chances. If they had been wiser, they would have won. Luckily, despite any powers they might have had, they were foolish. Sanene Sifina Caverni died first, Bumal was of no threat by himself.

I am reasonably fond of the reactions that he would in my opinion develop. I will probably complete this, though I will not hurry quite so much.