It was a very strange first week for the Doom of Canyons. They had already doubled their group size since they arrived, though one of their initial number apparently went mad and was killed, another was killed and brought back to life, and a migrant died en-route. They were unprepared for such an influx, but they had fortunately been supplied with an extra tent so nobody had to sleep in the sticky snow. Food was an ongoing concern, as was the dwindling supply of good drink. If the worst came to bear, they were prepared to dilute their cups. As for food, well, there's no party like a Donner party.
Only time could tell if this strange collection of disenfranchised nobles, ambitious artisans, gritty peasants, overly cheerful surfacers, wary military and cautious servants could make it in this land. Why were there no Thinkers? Who knows!
As Spring rose over the land, they were universally struck by the beauty of this place. The only exception was Nylona, who simply kept her eyes down whenever she left shelter. The waterfall sparkled with ice crystals melting and reforming, the dark green of the forest poked through the snowy blanket, and the brilliant blue of the sky began to be seen through gaps in the dense winter clouds.
Fortunately they could soon ignore this splendour and get to living permanently in the depths. For now the mine was shallow and rough, inhospitable to all but the meanest of life. But soon it would be a glorious passage worthy of Dwarfdom, leading to... other passages! With gold and gems and roast beef! Beer and companions of the amiable sort!
Norrec's barrel of Trail Spirits began to rumble! It was fermented on the 5th of Granite! Truly a moment of glory for the fortress!
Taking responsibility for the deceased, Tholtig sent them onward with a little help from others. She forged a new set of masonry tools for herself, though she wasn't exactly a mason. As Kogan was already carving blocks, she simply took some and worked them into fine sarcophagi. After checking with the others, it was decided that it would be best in the long term to dig out a shallow tomb for them in the opposite cliff face, so that soil movement would never ruin their rest. It was a detour in the mining, but only a small one, and surely it could be expanded into something greater?
Just to be sure that no further horrors would come of it, Mikhail's body was cremated in a newly erected furnace. Fortunately enough the cold weather had preserved both bodies rather well. Tholtig and Nylona presided over the burials, ensuring that nothing ill would come of it. The rituals were uneventful.
Mikhail's coffin had an image of him being mauled by a wolf, while the other was simply decorated by the symbol of the Doom of Canyons: A solar eclipse over a mountain fortress. Some scraps of identification had been found, so Obok Otunmeng was also engraved in it.
Norrec took to the disassembly of the carts and the wagon. They were a treasure trove of spare parts, supplying a good amount of beams, metal fittings and cloth and leather bits. Hopefully there would be no need to transport a large amount of goods any time soon. Obtaining the materials without destroying (all of) them took most of the week, so she only made a single bed before heading out for another hunting trip. Litast got it, naturally.
Gar also finished off the Butcher's Tools. Crafting them out of Copper had saved them using their precious Iron, but it had required more materials. Regardless, the knives were sharp, the hooks poised and the racks never looked more hang-worthy. Adil butchered the deer, maggot and chicken. Alas, the animals were quite small, and though there was nothing wrong with her technique not much could be obtained. The meat was given a quick preserving and sealed away, while the bones were carefully stacked in a corner. The hide from the deer was hung up to dry.
With eight picks and 14 backs (only some of which were strong) the mining could proceed at a good rate. Even if they were unskilled or weak, simply having a constant stream of workers meant that digging was constant. Over the six days a labour rotation broke through 46 units of stone, the highest rate yet. The new tomb, the main hallway, the stairwell and a side room were all dug out. 37 boulders were extracted, no thanks to the unskilled hands at work.
The irrigation tunnel was also approached with shovels, the crusty soil breaking under the blows. Digging straight down while leaving handholds, they discovered that the river was only one unit deep on the shore, but reached two in the middle, at least on this branch of it. More digging was done, excavating the space needed to place the floodgate and the seal around it. With Kogan cutting granite like a madman, the massive pile of boulders began to resemble a slightly more orderly stack.
The soil reached three levels down, but was replaced by granite further down. On this was placed the foundation of the seal, then above that the floodgate, and above that the top of the seal, and above that the surface. Finally the floodgate was installed, sealed entirely with solid granite. Watertight, goblinproof, and resilient enough to outlast time itself, it would go on to have many adventures.
Litast found it more difficult to keep track of the fort. With everything scattered about, with dwarfs popping out of the wilderness and no dedicated stockpiles, it was a challenge just figuring out who ate what for breakfast.
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Topic: Cobalt Fortress: Days 48 onward: This is the spring of our discontent (Read 148416 times)