Cog’s Journal, 28th of Moonstone, 311Well today Derm the Soulchopper decided to name his steel battleaxe. He calls it Akmeshitat or Tempestchills in the common tongue. It certainly has a reputation being responsible for the death of two giants and a forgotten beast while in Derm’s hands.
Trading with the Dwarven Caravan this year was lucrative as always. I love how they always bring tonnes of what I ask for. And of course, we return the favor quite nicely by trading very generously. Over 20k in gemstones this year. If I could just get the design for the stained glass windows nailed down . . .
Cog’s Journal, 8th of Opal, 311Today we started channeling the floor of the dining hall to expose the future water features. This is a pretty exciting turn of events. I’m looking forward to throwing the switch on our nearly completed pump stack!
We just need to finish up the entire first unit of the power plant before we can fire it up. So close!
Additionally, I’ve had some fantastic suggestions come across my desk for future projects around the fortress. Dragonshardz suggested we put a skylight in above the dome. Silver reflective walls would carry the light down no matter the sun angle. I mentioned that Syntic had suggested a waterfall in the past we’ll try to combine both ideas. I’ve got some ideas already to make it happen but I’m looking forward to seeing Dragonshardz’s blueprints.
Martini came by to chat while I was eating the dining hall tonight. Apparently, his work on the beast bones has inspired a couple of interesting project ideas once again. The first I’m still torn about since I’m not usually given to personal excess. However, the idea of a platinum throne decorated with forgotten beast bones, gems and metals from our fortress does have a certain appeal. I think I’ll give him the go ahead in the near future once a platinum throne is built. I’m going to arrange a new office soon anyhow.
Martini’s other idea really grabbed my attention. A pair of artificial rivers and cascading down on either side of the fortress entrance sounds fantastically dwarven. Water on one side, magma on the other should create a fantastic dichotomy. The discussion over dinner was quite inspiring with several dwarves chiming in questions and ideas. The idea having both water and magma on each side did come up from one of Adker’s children, but water and magma don’t mix too terribly well. I’ve since added the concept into the master fortress plan*.
Let’s see, what else came up? Oh yes, Tin Reaper came by with some drawings that show imagination but could use some work. I passed him a couple of copies of books on siege engineering from my library for his enjoyment and education. I’ll put the work order in for him to build some parts and then install one in an empty room by the dining hall to start pulverizing stone for a while.
Oh and Derm is apparently bored and wants the miners to dig down to see if there are more caves. I think that can be arranged in the new year. Last thing I’d ever want is for Derm to be bored. Whatever the idea, it’s great to see so much interest in the future of our home!
Events of the, 2nd of Obsidian, 311No dwarf could miss the sounds that occurred today. Anyone walking near the power plant heard the humming of the waterwheels grow audibly louder as the first full 800 power unit was activated.
Then Cog issued the order, “Throw the Switch!”
Despite the complexity of the system, all the dwarves knew exactly which switch Cog was referring to. The lockout control for the 15 story pumpstack that would bring water up to the dining hall. Fresh, clean water instead of the murky water they had lived with for the past decade. The tanner/butcher Risen Isakdegel got the honor of pulling the switch.
With a loud roar and the echoing grinding of gears, the massive pumpstack lurched into operation, using nearly half the power capacity of the power plant to operate. Then the sound of the pumps faded and was replaced with the sound of flowing water. The air in the dining hall began to move as a solid wall of water began flowing up the carefully prepared and smoothly polished channels towards the dining hall.
It would be many days before the water reached the hall, but there was great excitement that the system was working.
Events of the, 16th of Obsidian, 311Hey look, our traditional end of year siege has arrived. I’ll be dispatching the entire military for this one. I’m sure our new squads could use some practice.
OOC: The water system is carefully pressurized to force water up to just below the floor of the dining hall. I just hope that I’ve read all the details about water flow correctly. I’ll be running the siege later tonight, hoping things go smoothly.
*Regarding the master fortress plan, there really is one. It is a very rough drawing that still has a lot of blank spaces. They’re slowly being filled in by ideas though.
@breadbocks: I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t even built the platinum throne yet. But you’ve been working on the forgotten beast bone bolts. I’ve been distracted by a bunch of glitches in getting the pump stack up and running. Stupid pumps kept getting built in the wrong order and collapsing. Now that that’s done I’ll get things set up for starting the throne decoration project.
I love the waterfall idea. I hope the above acknowledgement works for you!
@Urist Imiknorris: Yup, that’s right. I think something might change in the near future though.
@dragonshardz: Makes sense. I’ve got some ideas how to make both happen, but I’m looking forward to seeing your take on it.
@Tin Reaper:
@Crifmer: No problem at all. There will be a migration sometime in the near future (next couple of game years). I’ll make sure to dorf you when they arrive. Good luck with the megaproject, glad you’ve been enjoying your visits!
@ushilzagith: I can certainly rename your dwarf’s child. Consider it done based on your dwarf’s last journal entry. Also, one of your children chimed in during the conversation with Martini as mentioned above, your call which one.