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[Omen]

@Battlecat: Thanks!  He looks good, I'll write something up for little Omen.  Nice to see he's friends with the boss.  Heh.

Omen's Journal, 28th of Felsite, 315

I did it!  I knew I could, but you know, sometimes I thought it would never happen.  I've always felt I could tell Cog anything, despite him being the best architect in the entire world, better than anyone who has ever architect-ed and a genius beyond . . . okay I've lost my place here.  Let me start again.  Cog said I could be in the military!  WOO!  This calls for another beer.

Omen's Journal, 29th of Felsite, 315

Okay.  That was more than one beer.  In any case, Cog said that as soon as I get old enough he'll let me train as a wrestler.  It's not as prestigious as being an axedwarf, but as cool as axes are I'd rather always be able to defend myself.  Sometimes an axe isn't handy, but I'll always have my elbow.  Well, I'll hopefully always have my elbow. At least I won't have to carry around sticks and bones like Sazir stupidface.  What happens if I don't have my elbow?  Oh! I know!  Knee!

Omen's Journal, 29th of Felsite, 315

OH!  I wonder if he'll let me have a Nightwing as a pet!  Or a Giant Frog! 

[Crifmer]

@Battlecat: You can leave furnace operating on, if you'd like.  Something about the molten metal fascinates him.  It's like pyromania, but a bit safer.

Crifmer's Journal, Granite 315.17

I love it here.  I get the metal.

I get the metal.

In the workshop...

Crifmer ran the rag over the shiny smooth surface.  It was so flat that if you looked at it from the right perspective, it just disappeared.  Perfection.  He ran his hands along the silver plane for what must have been the thousandth time, watching their reflection for any blemishes.

Cog was wonderful, to give him such a duty.  There was no need, they said in Mountainhome.  It was pointless.  What could a dwarf like him do, anyway?  Best to just join the military.  But why fight for a home that didn't understand?  Cog understood.  Towersoared was a masterpiece, would be a masterpiece.  It was just the place for a dwarf like Crifmer.

He would have to go back to the furnace soon for more silver.  Blocks at first, learn the skills, get familiar with the tools.  And then......

Art.

[Battlecat]

Cog's Journal, 3rd of Hematite, 315

I saw a miracle today.  Who here remembers Ezum Lorbamsebir the Miner?  She got a bad case of frostbite many years ago and we thought she would never walk again.  Today she crawled into the dining hall as usual and then shocked us all into silence by standing up and walking to her spot at the table. 

Apparently she's been keeping it a secret until she was sure she had recovered, waiting to suprise us.  Words cannot describe how surprised and happy I am that this came to pass.  She's been working as an engraver to pass the time since it puts less stress on the body but she'll be rejoining the miners today.  I think she was pretty excited by that news. 

Cog's Journal, 7th of Hematite, 315

It came to my attention recently that we don't have a proper space for social gatherings.  While the dining hall is an amazing room and excellent for moral; it fails as a space for meeting others due to its sheer size.  With this in mind, I've commissioned one of the small rooms off the dining hall as a statue garden using the artifact statue built way back in 305.  I hope this will serve nicely. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

There are three other gold statues in the room and the entrance will be a pair of electrum doors that were made some years ago on a mandate or something. 

Omen was wondering about pets.  I had to tell him that Nightwings were right out since they were far too dangerous.  But I’ll arrange some traps in the caverns; maybe we’ll trap something interesting.  Actually, we might have a cougar or leopard in storage. 

Events of the 10th of Hematite, 315

Comp was busily working away smoothing his home on the first cave level when he heard a strange sound.  It wasn't a beast, it was more like the sound of rushing water.  It echoed as if coming from every direction.  Comp began moving back towards the fort in a hurry, if the cave was flooding, he needed to get inside before it was too late.  But as he walked across the bridge over the water supply channel, he realized the source of the sound. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The entire lake that formed the base of the fortress water supply was rapidly draining away.  There was no reason for it, no reason at all.  Nothing had been changed anywhere in the local area.  Two things immediately occurred to Comp.  First was that Cog would need to know and a new water supply would need to be secured.  Secondly, he realized that his secure and safe home was decidedly less safe now. 

Cog's Journal, 12th of Hematite, 315

What on earth is going on around here?  Where did our lake go?  Unfortunately, those questions don't have any easy or obvious answers so all I can do is find a solution.  The solution will keep until winter; we certainly don't have a water shortage at the moment.

Indri the weaver finally got around to building his loom.  I'm concerned for his safety gathering webs in the cave, but if that's what he wants to do I'm not going to stand in his way. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

It'll be nice to have some fresh clothes.  On yet another note, I'm going to be notifying Derm that the new caves are open and ready for exploration.  I hope there's more interesting stuff in there than was in the lowest caves.  All we've seen down there is a single forgotten beast so far. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Go forth and discover Derm! 

Cog's Journal, 13th of Hematite, 315

Today I went out to the very edge of our land claim and began putting out survey stakes to help guide the digging of our defensive trench where our main entrance will be going in the future.  Once the trench is in place they’ll be removed and proper walls will be going in their place.  The trench will suffice for the moment.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Some new cage alarms will also have be installed where the main entrance is going to be located.  The current entrance was always intended to be temporary and I’ve refined the design in recent years.

Crifmer dove into the forges with refreshing enthusiasm.  There's going to be a lot of work to keep him busy in the coming weeks and months.  I'm also happy to hear some enthusiasm for the idea of some very basic military training for all civilians.  I'm terribly worried about what's going on at mountain home.  Basic self defense skills would be quite valuable and the change of pace is always nice.  Plus, Derm has offered to teach some classes which should be quite interesting. 

Events of the 18th of Hematite, 315

Derm the Soulchopper was about to enter the newly discovered level of caverns.  This was it, probably the final opportunity for cave exploration.  He walked across the bridge and into the forest when suddenly a figure came around the corner and almost ran into him. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Derm’s axe was out in a flash ready to do battle.  Indri was carrying a spool with some silk thread on it and had a rapt look on his face.

“What are you doing here you fool!” hissed Derm, relaxing his guard, irritated that someone was already down here. 

Indri looked up, just noticing that Derm was there.  “Oh, there’s lots of silk to gather, couldn’t waste any time!”  And with that, he wandered back to the main stairwell, silk in hand. 

Derm shook his head.  Some dwarves had no sense of self preservation.  And with that, Derm walked out in to the caves, alone as usual. 

OOC: The cave draining is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen.  Well I guess I'll take this opportunity to design a more robust water source.  At least we have lots of water already up at the dining hall level. 

@Urist Imiknorris: Consider it done.  As head stoneworker, I’ll be placing you “in charge” of the squad.

@dermonster: I’ll see what I can do to set up some cross training.  Of course there’s also going to still be stuff to kill.  I’ll check your relationships for next update since I don’t have the game at hand right now.  Kick me if I forget tomorrow! 

@Scaraban: I’ll see what I can do, large heavy warhammer it is. 

@Omen:  Nice one!  I’ll have to see what I can scrounge up that’s trainable. I think there are some large cats around, I’ll see if I can assign one to you if you’re interested or alternatively chain it up in your bedroom. 

@Crifmer: That was a fantastic writeup.  I’ll pop the smelting task back on tonight.  We actually have more furnace operators than furnaces now so I think the backlog of ore will finally start disappearing.  I really love Crifmer’s rapt attitude and I suspect Crifmer will really like the forges since they’re all built using gold blocks and steel anvils. 

[Indricotherium]

Indri's Journal,  the 18th of Hematite, 315

Webs! Webs as far as you can see! This new cavern is a wonderland. As soon as I got my new loom put together I ran right down to take a look and it was better than I had imagined. No more rope weed for me, this stuff is the pure, true item! So smooth and silky. As long as you're careful to strip away the sticky strands anyway. On my way back I ran into Derm heading out. I never realized that he had an interest in silk too. Well, who wouldn't? It's wonderful! OK. Got to stop writing now and get this stuff on the loom, oh the glorious clothes I'm going to make! I'm so excited!

@Battlecat: Indri's going to be a classic, fairly fixated on what he loves, dwarf. You know the type, cannot imagine that others don't love what he loves and tends to see everything in that light. As a result, he's not so much brave as unaware of the dangers the caverns might have. When (if) it comes to encounters with GCS's, he has the mentality that those people have who think they know how to act around wild grizzlies IRL, if I don't act like food, it won't care about me. We'll see how that goes. Heh. And don't worry about what he thinks other dwarfs are thinking. It's all him. I am not, however, going to take him in the direction of the gay, carefree fashion designer. I think that's overdone. Excitable, yes. Gay, no. I can see him coming up with all sorts of uses for silk, from armour (cloaks especially) to ropes for restraints to things that cannot be done in-game yet like wall hangings and bedsheets. As ever, you're the boss though.

[Dermonster]

Heh, loved that bit at the end there.

We don't really see much of Derm with other dwarves, do we? Might have to fix that.

Part of the reason I volunteered to train a milita.

[Syntic]

Syntic's Journal:

It seems that the subterranean lake that we have been using as a source of water is beginning to dry up. Cog has made some hasty sketches in an effort to better understand why we are loosing water, so I've been going over it along with every sketch we have of our water system. In the year 312, not only did we activate our water reactors for the very first time, but we also connected one lake with a near by lake. During this year notes of the water flow show an expected change in the current of the water, but that the current once again seemingly normalized once we had put our max load on the lake. But what it seems we did not take into account is that the western lake that we connected to in 312 gets deeper the further you go west, and we only know this because of the strain we put on the lake in the year we made this connection.

Unfortunately, data was unavailable for the underwater currents further west as that went beyond our territory. But it seemed that a number of factors could be causing this sudden drop in water levels. The first and most likely was the reactors themselves. It was likely that the reactors caused the water to turn to vapor and that the system was not perfectly sealed. Another possibility was that dwarfs were using water from the well thinking that it was an endless supply of water below.

Clearly both ideas suggested that the lake to the west had a natural flow to the west already and that we had put enough strain on it that it now receded. There was likely nothing to be done to fix this lake other than connecting it to another lake, but even then that would only be a temporary fix unless we found a lake that had a natural inlet into our territory and not out of it.

[Battlecat]

Cog's Journal, 20th of Hematite, 315

According to Derm the middle cave has fairly deep lakes and is going to be hard to navigate.  There are more tunnels unexplored as yet, but they can’t be accessed due to the deep lakes.  I’ll arrange for the masons to remedy that situation.  In the meantime, Derm seemed a bit down since there was nothing to kill in the new caves, so I suggested he go grab two new equipment items to cheer him up.  I think Reloncomnith and Rithluttogum, the artifact high boot and cloak respectively should fit in quite nicely with his ensemble. 

Actually, there is also a small inaccessible section of cave level 1 I should arrange access to, particularly since there are often Troglodytes over then making faces at us.  I think the easiest way across there is by carving a tunnel through the overhead caverns especially since the Troglodytes will probably startle the dwarves. 

Hmmm, I don’t think Indri is going to be happy when he sees the webs caught on Derm’s clothing.

Cog's Journal, 21st of Hematite, 315

Well the roar of this beastie was clearly audible right from the deepest places of the earth.  A quick scouting mission revealed that a lobster like forgotten beast has come.  Siniti Esagarinowe has come to Towersoared.  Looking at him from a distance, it is abundantly clear that this one was perfect for Derm. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I expect he'll enjoy himself as long as he doesn't get webbed.  Of course since Derm is gathering some new gear, I'm going to secure the level three cave bridge until he's ready to fight.  I gather he's also looking forward to a rest in his own bed after his exploration of the new caves. 

I've also gotten tired of our book keeper being unable to easily track the difference between a bar of gold in the stockpile and a bar of gold installed as flooring.  As a result, I've ordered the entrance hall to be carefully stripped and re plated with blocks of the same metal type.  While it might look the same, it will make bookkeeping much easier.

Cog's Journal, 25th of Hematite, 315

Syntic came to me with a fairly sound theory about why the lake suddenly drained away.  It really comes down to his theory or some geological disaster further away in the caves.  Thanks to dwarven law, we can't investigate and find out the true cause.  But Syntic's theory seems sound.  It's certainly preferable to the thought of sabotage, from either a goblin or dwarven source.  The mere thought that a goblin would have the skill or a dwarf the inclination is terribly unnerving. 

I believe the best bet will be to seal off the tunnel and isolate the lake we use for our water source.  Then we can set up a pumping system to bring in water from one of the other nearby lakes on the first cave level.  With any luck the next lake will have a better and more reliable water supply. 

I also had a visit from one of our Marksdwarves recently.  After killing the beast, she’s been giving a lot of thought to adopting a new name.  She finally made her decision, and apparently she will be known as Thatdude the Markdswarf.

Spoiler: Thatdude the Marksdwarf (click to show/hide)

Certainly an interesting choice of names, I fully approve.   

Cog's Journal, 28th of Hematite, 315

Another wave of migrants arrived today.  8 more bedraggled and tired dwarves.  It's a long journey from mountainhome.  Of note among this group we have a mason, a furnace operator, and a blacksmith who will go directly to work in their chosen fields.  The other 5 will form a brand new work crew. 

Looks like I need to install more beds.  And just as I got the last group settled. 

Cog's Journal, 6th of Malachite, 315

It's time; he's going in, equipped with new gear including a better shield!  Another forgotten beast will soon be dead.  I hope . . .

I also keep hoping he'll actually spend some time with other dwarves; he really does just love training.  Even I barely know the dwarf who's saved us from goblins time and again.

Events of the 8th of Malachite, 315

Derm was excited for the battle, particularly since this one was easy to find.  There was no room for hesitation.  He immediately charged in to fight the beast, chopping at its leg and tearing into the scales.  This one was going to be a lot tougher, as evidenced when its charging bulk collided with him.  It was more than enough to send him flying backwards and he fell to the ground.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Other than a couple more light hits from Akmeshitat, the next few minutes were actually scary.  The beast was large and faster than Derm had seen in a long time.  But his armor and speed held true and he managed to dodge and scramble out of the way without injury.  He kept looking for an opening but the beast just kept coming. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

A small sampling of the next 9 pages of combat log:

But finally, a breakthrough.  The beast charged him at a bad angle and went flying past him.  As it went by, he removed one of its feet with Akmeshitat.  And then another foot.  Now the beast was spraying blood and ichor every time it moved and it was slowing down  It looked more and more pale by the minute.  Its attacks were getting slower too.  He took off a couple more feet, dodging away from the beast. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

And then it collapsed mid-charge, dead from loss of blood through the severed limbs.  Derm took a deep breath and brushed the dust of his armor.  That was a hard but satisfying fight.  And he still got away without any injuries.  Looks like the dwarves who enjoy lobster were going to have a serious party if the haulers could get this corpse upstairs before it rotted. 

Spoiler: Derm’s Aftermath (click to show/hide)

And with that, he turned and began the long walk back to the fortress. 

OOC: Yes, I’ve assigned two artifact items to Derm the Soulchopper.  He put them to good use. 

@Indricotherium: Perfect, glad I interpreted your character goals accurately!  I'll have you running down into the cave with little regard for your life then.    Also, from the sounds of things I'll also be exercising his skills as a clothier.  Feel free to make suggestions about what he should be crafting, I might be the boss but this is a community effort and I greatly appreciate ideas and creativity!  Even ones that force me to deviate from my core fortress plans. 

@dermonster: As I alluded in the updated today, Derm the Soulchopper's relationship screen hasn't changed in the slightest in years.  You have a pet cat and passing acquaintance with two children.  Of course the new meeting hall hasn't been around long enough for you to use it yet; maybe that will change in the near future.  Of course, when he's off duty, he obsesses with individual combat drills.  Still, because I promised it, here is Derm the Soulchopper’s relationships:

Spoiler: Derm’s Relationships (click to show/hide)

I'll keep you posted if anything changes.

@Syntic: Very nice!  I certainly wouldn't expect a dwarf to be responsible for this!  ;-)

@Thatdude: I got your PM, the introduction of your dwarf is in the update above!

[Thatdude]

Thank you! I love it when a dwarf kind of fits your personality as well. I got lucky I guess. My dwarf's skills are great as well. Lengendary dodger .
Might do some journal entries if I get around to it.

[Syntic]

Ya it seems strange. The only thing I can think that you might have done to cause it yourself would be the update in version. There might be some new mechanic that's causing dwarfs to use more water or the reactors to loose water. You could always save the game and make a back up and then go down there in adventure mode to get a better idea of what's going on to the west of the fortress. I know that sounds a bit like cheating, but this is a strange enough thing, that I personally feel it's warranted.

[Dermonster]

Derm does it yet again.

As always, the write up is superbly excellent.

[magmaholic]

derm...you are like a friggin one-man army!
if US army could hire him,then al quaida (or whatever) would be done for!
booze in,raeg out.Simple mechanism for derm.

[Urist Imiknorris]

Food
Booze --> Derm --> DEATH
Bed

[Battlecat]

Cog's Journal, 15th of Malachite, 315

Today marks a doubly fantastic day!  First, the new defensive trench has been effectively completed.  Now our enemies who walk can only come at us from a predictable route.  We have taken full ownership of our lands.  There’s still one phase left but it’s not a high priority since the area in question is walled off.  Now work on surface projects can proceed more quickly. 

Of course, this leads straight in to the actual completion of the industrial corridors.  It has always been my intent to warm the large hallways with exposed channels of magma.  And today, that dream begins to take final form as I give the miners the orders to expose the channels in the main corridors. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

This has been carefully planned right back when the channels for magma supply to the facilities were carved.  And the conservative fools back in mountainhome actually had the audacity to say this was infeasible.  Light and heat courtesy of molten rock, what could be more dwarven?

Cog's Journal, 16th of Malachite, 315

Another fantastic day, our fortress may die someday but its history will live on in legend.  Today the 5th and final axe wielded by our axedwarves was named.  Behold, the five axes that shall go down in legend:

Akmeshitat (Tempestchills): wielded by Derm the Soulchopper with 201 kills
Mammgozuz (Dragongrowl): wielded by Ustuth Drinkglove with 68 kills
Uz Nalish (The Growls of Forever): wielded by Erith Tourfilled with 21 kills
Mishakullung (The Speechless Conjourers): wielded by Catten Wheeltrots with 97 kills

and finally as of today:

Onamadas (Shimmeredpasses): wielded by Fikod Claspbolts with 84 kills. 

I hope someday all the weapons of our military become as legendary as these someday.

Cog's Journal, 20th of Malachite, 315

Continuing with my semi-random review of the files of the dwarves of Towersoared, today I came across two interesting dwarves.  The first is Catten Ubalmafol, our legendary miner and armorsmith turned swordfighter with the title Boneminer.  She has been a great friend of mine right from the very founding of Towersoared and I’m glad she seems to have found herself a place of comfort in the military.

Spoiler: Catten Ubalmafol, Boneminer (click to show/hide)

She’s a bit unhappy with me this week because I let her squad’s assignment to patrol the trench digging crew run far longer than I intended.  Hopefully she’ll take a few days off.

Over to Rifotangrir Linemmorul, commander of the Hammerdwarf squad and Legendary Bonecrafter.    He is another dwarf who tends to keep to himself and doesn’t have many friends.  He’s been quite happy with the sparring opportunities with his squad though. 

Spoiler: Rifotangrir the Hammerdwarf (click to show/hide)

Rifotangrir also stands out as the wielder of Itnet Kokeb and Uthiruzol Nidostdebtezul, our artifact bone warhammer and shield respectively. 

Finally, we have our prolific lay about and general mooch, Asmel Loloroth.  In spite of this, he’s done just enough work to keep his legendary glassmaker skill from getting rusty and he occasionally hauls some food around.  But additionally, Asmel and his wife Vucar have also contributed 15 children to our fortress.

Spoiler: Asmel the Mooch (click to show/hide)

He’s effectively ensured an eternal legacy through his family.  Now, back to managing these work orders. 

Cog's Journal, 24th of Malachite, 315

An unusual thing happened today.  Not only did Syntic stop everything for a few minutes and actually take a break, but he happened to go and spend time in the statue garden at the same time as Martini.  I suppose it is possible that they might actually get to know one another.  I'm not sure they know anything beyond the others name.  Maybe they'll discover they worship the same god.

Spoiler: Martini and Syntic in the Statue Garden (click to show/hide)

PS: Nope, apparently they managed to entirely ignore one another. 

Events of the 27th of Malachite, 315 

Dragonshardz approached the bare wall of the industrial corridor with a mixture of trepidation and excitement.  It had been two long years of pure stone smoothing.  But it had been worth the time and trouble for the look of the fortress.  But now, at last it was time.  The other engravers had already begun, but now, it was his turn.  His chisel bit into stone and slowly his creative juices began to flow once again . . .

Spoiler: The Recent Works of Dragonshardz (click to show/hide)

Cog's Journal, 2nd of Galena, 315 

Today work will begin on the south industrial hallway.  In this area will be our glassworks and any other industries that haven’t been established in Towersoared yet.  It will follow a very similar design to the north hall where the butchery and brewers are located.

Glassworking is the last major industry that needs space in the lower levels.  I believe I even have a way to ensure efficiency of sand collection by collapsing a section of desert down into the center of the future glassworks sand storage area.  The glassworks floor will have to be carved first though. 

OOC: A few more dwarven revisits along with a look at the 5 battleaxes of Towersoared.  It seemed appropriate since the 5th one was finally named today.  I really like the names for the weapons. 

Oh and by the way, I probably won't get another update posted until late Monday or Tuesday due to commitments this weekend.  So don't sound the alarm about my absence until at least Wednesday!    Enjoy your weekend. 

@Thatdude: Nifty, glad you find the personality appropriate!  Write journals as you feel inspired but don’t feel obligated.

@Syntic:  The water pumps have all been shut down for quite some time.  The water drainage is out towards the edge of the map so I suspect the game suddenly decided there isn’t a lake off the edge of the map which triggers an outflow of water.  I just hope the next lake I tap doesn’t run into the same issue.  No water shortage for a while yet though. 

@dermonster: Thanks!

@magmaholic: Indeed he is, he is a truly destructive dwarf.  By the way, I did a quick revisit on your dwarf in this update. 

@Urist Imiknorris: A day in the life of the Soulchopper indeed.

[Abyss, Holder of Light]

Hooray for updates!

Abyss' Journal, 2nd of Galena, 315

From the general hubbub that the miners are doing, the glass works are finally being polished. And what's more, they're bringing the sand down to us! No more reason to lumber under the baking sun just to get sand.

Well, nothing much more to write, busy, busy, busy!

[Indricotherium]

Indri's Journal, 3rd of Galena, 315
Someone mentioned today that there was a bit of a ruckus down in the caverns. I guess Derm slew another Great Beast trying to get inside the fortress. Sounds exciting! I'm going to try and get more details after I get this thread spun.

Indri's Journal, 4th of Galena, 315
Journal, I'm crushed inside. The beast spun webs! Silk from the Dawn of Time Before Time! Strands like ship rigging! Vast ropes of silken fiber never before seen by dwarfen eyes, caressed by dwarfen fingers! Oh the lost opportunity! How could he have not seen the webbing? What could have been going through his mind? I'm so upset I couldn't finish my eighth. I just poured it back in the barrel.

You know, I think I need to get down there. Maybe some webbing remains behind. It could still be saved for posterity. There's no time to lose!