Cog's Journal, 23rd of Moonstone, 315Well well well, would you look at what Scaraban brought upstairs from the random handful of cage traps we set in the caves:
So, this one comes down to the same question as the Nightwing did so many years ago: What do we do with it? I’ve heard stories about farming these spiders for silk but I have no idea how to go about it. Maybe Indri has some thoughts. Speaking of Indri, I’ve also got those stock records he was looking for. I’ve included them below:
Prepared Dyes: Dimple Dye (Blue): 40 units
Emerald Dye (Green): 430 units
Redroot Dye (Red): 250 units
Plants: None available, but we have seeds to produce more dimple cups.
Cloth and Thread: (Including uncollected thread potential in caves)
Giant Cave Spider Silk: 115 Cloth / 188 Thread
Cave Spider Silk: 172 Cloth / 1814 Thread
Rope Reed Fiber: 297 Cloth / 45 Thread
Pig Tail Fiber: 39 Cloth / 29 Thread
With this information Urist Imiknorris and Indri should be able to plan on being well trained by the time the Giant Cave spider silk is ready to go. The only thing I’m really curious about is if they want to spend some training time on plant cloths or if they just want to focus exclusively on silk.
Triax came by once again in a break from his early basic military training to inquire about setting up a home in the deeps. He would like to carve a hanging tower over the magma sea.
To top things off, Thatdude has requested the leather headscarf that was recently created and has asked to be posted in the second cave level to help protect Indri while he’s collecting silk. I think that’s an excellent plan so I’ll post him down there as often as he feels inclined. The headscarf is a reasonable request; it should look quite classy wrapped around his helmet.
Events of the 25th of Moonstone, 315There was the rumbling sound of mechanisms working and then a clank as the bridge in to the deepest cave level opened before Derm the Soulchopper. Behind him, the other bridge back in to the fortress slammed shut, cutting off his access. A necessary security in case he fell in battle so the rest of the military could make their way down to deal with the monster.
As he walked towards the pool where the beast was reported to be lurking, Derm thought about his accomplishments over the years. Derm would turn 71 in Obsidian. He had been rather unremarkable and uninspired blacksmith back in mountain home. He dreamed of military glory back living in mountainhome and now he had it. Countless monsters and goblins, three giants and five forgotten beasts had fallen before him. And now, Aknun willing, the sixth forgotten beast would die to his axe.
As he rounded the bend in the cave, the feathery scorpion burst from the water and began to charge towards him. He raised Akmeshitat, and screamed out his defiance at the universe that would spawn such horrors.
This beast was monstrous, and immediately he saw that this would be another tough fight. As the beast came in for its first strike, he deftly dodged out of the way and chopped the beast in the leg, tearing a deep gash. Quickly, it changed its tactics and began charging him, knocking him down here and there. However, as the beast attempted to make its attacks after the charge, he easily scrambled out of the way and pulled himself to his feet. However, this was not good. The beast's bulk and speed easily matched his combat prowess. All he could do was dodge and weave looking for an opening.
A sample of the next
eleven pages of this battle
Then suddenly, he looked behind him and realized the beast had maneuvered him over to the shore of the lake. Before he could process the situation fully, the beast charged him again and sent him flying into the water. As he hit the water, Derm took a deep breath and then sank to the bottom like a stone in his heavy armor.
The beast could breathe underwater and would easily survive this fight just by pushing him under. But perhaps being incautious, the beast dove in to the water after him. Derm quickly swam out of the way, and began swinging Akmeshitat in spite of the water holding him back. He struck hard and tore the beast in the legs and thorax, dealing some damage. But still the beast kept coming.
In spite of his precarious position, Derm kept the fight up. He would dodge and block the clumsy underwater attacks of the beast and then take a strike when the opportunity arose. Finally, he got a solid shot in on the foot of the beast, severing it, sending it floating away.
The beast was bleeding profusely now, but it still charged with great power. In fact, it was hitting even faster and harder than before it seemed. Or was he running out of air and actually slowing down? Derm didn't have time to decide which it was and continued the fight. Then he got in one more flurry of hits, tearing and ripping at the beast’s abdomen and leg. Then he severed one more foot. And the beast suddenly shuddered and went still in the water. Floating. Dead.
Without a wasted moment, Derm dragged himself out of the water and sat down on the shore of the lake, breathing hard to catch his breath after that dangerous battle. That was likely the closest he had come to dying since he had arrived in Towersoared. And the funny thing was, it wasn't the beast that would have killed him. He glanced briefly over at the spire of adamantium in the middle of the lake nearby and turned Akmeshitat over in his hand, considering the future as he pulled himself to his feet and began the walk back to the fortress.
Someday, someday soon the miners would map out the whole pillar and then they could carve off sections of the precious stone safe from whatever might hide below. And then weapons and armor the likes of which had never been see would be crafted in Towersoared. But at the same time, the thought of giving up Akmeshitat pained him. This weapon had been with him for many years and had very nearly as many kills as him. It was a precious item to him, an extension of his own arm.
He shook his head and then walked back to the fortress. The adamantium could wait for another day.
OOC: I thought Derm was done for when he hit the water. But he killed the beast even while drowning. Also, we have a giant cave spider now.
@Triaxx2: Actually I’ve had that comment a couple times when I’ve assigned dwarves. I’m looking forward to seeing where you decide to set up shop. FYI, I’ve already done some experimenting with downwards construction, so that shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll double check the map, but levels 53 down to 49 shouldn’t be a problem. I think there will have to be two levers, one to lock the door and one to open the balconies since levers are very quirky and don’t actually work the way you describe as far as I know. Did you have a particular floor plan or size in mind? Did you want it symmetrical or should I vary the size and layout for each floor? Should I just run with it and see what happens? Feel free to post a blueprint if you've got an idea.
@Thatdude: I love it, don’t worry one bit about being verbose! I’m guilty of the same thing as evidenced by my updates! I’ll put your dwarf on patrol down in the caves rather than training as often as he can tolerate. And I can confirm that you are now wearing the headscarf even though I don't have a screenshot for this update.
@Indricotherium: Inventory of dyes, cloth and thread above. The game is of course counting uncollected thread but that should give you an idea of the potential. Also, we have a Giant Cave Spider captured.
@dermonster, Urist Imiknorris: This one was closer than usual. I was holding my breath expecting him to drown, especially since he’s just achieved dabbling in swimming thanks to this fight.
@Omen: Should be soon, I looked at you bio again. Your 12th birthday is actually coming up very soon.
@Comp112: No worries at all. I’m sure you’ll reply if something comes to mind. His home is smoothed, so I’ll start him on engraving at some point in here. The farms are working well. At the moment, the plants are going back up to the main stockpile, but I’ll set up a local storage area soon. He’s also getting assistance from the other fortress planter on occasion. I think eventually there will be quite a number of services down here; a brewery will be a high priority.
@Scaraban: Yeah, there wasn’t any particular plan, but it can always evolve.
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Topic: Towersoared - Chronicles of Construction (Community) - 0.31.25 (Read 289413 times)