17th Moonstone
Well, I'm overseer. Really don't know how that happened. One day I'm building mechanisms and drawing up generator plans, next thing "metime00", fortress overseer, bursts in and says that he's had enough. Must be the stress or something; why else would any self-respecting dwarf want to give up overseership two months early and go back to farming? Very odd. Must be the stress. Or something in the water. Best stick to booze, that's what I say.
On that note, the outpost seems to be critically low on the good stuff. Only thirteen swigs left in the stocks? Unacceptable! My first action as overseer is to order booze production to step up and convert all those useless plants into tasty alcohol! Luckily we still have plenty of food, and can cook our surplus meat if we need to.
I then took a stroll around the fort, to size up my new responsibilities. I'd never been into the deep forges before, but after just a few minutes in that cramped, hot room I determined that they were inadequate. Only three anvils and four smelters! We can do better than that. I ordered that the complex be expanded, to facilitate magma-based industry.
Laid out to minimize warm stone interruptions, in theory!
I met with CinnabarMan to discuss the military state of the fortress. Unfortunately, the militia was decimated in the last onslaught against the siege, so we have only five soldiers, two of whom are raw recruits. They're all a bit traumatized from their last foray against the goblin menace, so I won't be sending them out there anytime soon. However, two foul monsters reside in the caverns below the fortress, and military engineering projects may necessitate work in the caves. Thus, our surviving militia will remain on active duty for the time being, lest the need to kill some loathesome beasts arise.
On the whole, it was a productive day.
19th Moonstone
I re-examined the magma complex plans, and realized that I could construct a system of magma ducts, rather than having to spend time gingerly digging over the magma sea. A pump would fill the ducts when they were completed. Also, it's snowing. I took a brief break from my paperwork and built a snowdwarf. The goblin corpses added to the picturesqueness.
28th Moonstone
The baroness consort called a party.
Silly nobles...
Why is it that we have a baroness consort, or a baron? Work would be done far more effectively with a socialized system of labor distribution. Strange dwarves coming from over the horizon bearing official-looking papers is no basis for a system of government! I told the partygoers that the room that they had chosen for their festivities was no longer to be used for public assemblies. They ignored me; someone even tried to stick a silly hat on my head.
I thought for a bit, and then declared that there was no longer a dining room here. That got their attention; dejected, they returned to their work. Their will be time for parties once the safety of the fortress is assured.
10th Opal
Even in these trying times there remain spots of light and hope.
Apparently he likes milk; good thing, as it's all he'll be drinking for some time. He also really likes Nadak, god of fortresses. A LOT. Fascinating.
The new magma industrial complex has been fully dug out. We're starting to lay out the furnaces and forges over the magma intake ducts, and should be ready to start pumping the red stuff shortly!
The new and improved forge room: The sub-floor distribution duct: ROXAS got himself trapped in the magma intake duct. I sent someone to dig him out.
I'd never before noticed how many ghosts there were around here. Ghostly planters hovering around the forges, ghostly soldiers drifting around the blood-soaked hillside, ghostly cheesemakers in the meeting hall... it gets rather chilling at times. Thankfully they don't seem particularly violent. Just...mournful. It must be boring to be dead.
12th Opal
Some kid named Led sprinted past me during my daily jog. He had a very odd look in his eyes, and kept muttering some Old Dwarven phrase. He skidded into an unused crafting shop and started frantically piling rocks on the workbench. When our fellows are taken by the urge to build, we can only pray that they produce something of value.
19th Opal
Led finished his little project.
It was a mug.
If this is what our kind consider great, I fear for our race. There are donkey meat roasts in our larders that would sell for more than this.
19th Opal (appended)
Tragedy has struck. While magma was being pumped into the forge ducts, a sudden pressure variation caused a spout of molten rock to splash onto the floor, severely burning Erith the miner.
We did not have the means to cross the pool of magma spreading across the room; there was nothing we could do as she burned to death. We shall commission a memorial in her memory.
22nd Opal
I have officially started work on the machine that will save our fortress. Our settlement is built on the side of a high ridge; I recently realized that such a slope would be conducive to liquid flow, if distributed from near the top edge. Any invaders attempting to traverse the slope could be stymied by a flow of water from the top. However, our times are too desperate and our need is too great to use simple water. Magma will be a much more effective tool. When completed, the device will bring magma from the depths to a system of pipes along the ridgeline, which will evenly distribute it in flows down the slope. However, this will not be any ordinary magma pump; this will be the HYPERPUMP 3000, delivering SIX TIMES the usual flow of a standard pump stack. Any foul enemies daring to approach our home will be burned to death by a massive flow of molten rock, leaving behind nothing but their weapons and armor! Unfortunately, the majority of the surrounding terrain will have to be written off as a total loss; desperate times call for desperate measures!
HYPERPUMP 3000 will consist of 450 magma-safe pumping units in the stack alone, requiring close to 4500 units of power; the integrated generating complex will contain 60 water wheels, and will bring the total pump count to 510.
The future layout of the main power generator.
I have reassigned the entire fortress population to mining, masonry, and glassmaking, so that we will have enough material to complete this ambitious project. It will hopefully be completed within my reign; if not, I will trust that the next overseer will know what to do.
27th Opal
The remaining siegers are becoming rather annoying. I cannot even open our gate, lest we be slaughtered by the small band of remaining traiterous humans! Thus, I am preparing a system of traps at our gate. If need be, we can open the gate and allow our filthy enemies to run a gauntlet of deadly weapons! It will not be enough to repel a full siege, but it should be sufficient until HYPERPUMP 3000 is completed.
To be continued...
(Basically, we're completely sealed off from the surface, at least until the siegers go away. I'll need to send some people up there eventually to divert the river; if HYPERPUMP 3000 works as it should, we won't HAVE a river after the next siege. Unless someone comes with fliers, we can just hang out for a while. I might have to send the militia to kill the FBs; they're entirely organic, with bite-based syndromes, so we should be fine. I'll probably update next tomorrow evening, or do more tonight.)
Author
Topic: Silverfires (.25 succession fort. Sign up for rulership or dorfing) (Read 13551 times)