1005U - SPRING
"Let the guilds know that in spite of some . . . setbacks, we're managing just fine."
The caravan liaison's scribe waited patiently with pen and ink at the ready. Thick berry-scented smoke curled from his pipe as Dorna scribbled down some notes on a large piece of paper covered in obscure labels. Most of the writing on it was bizarre gibberish, either in cypher or written by looking in the mirror. The drawing itself was of a large square from which various tunnels and tubes extended to a flow-chart of unpronounceable words.
"My quarters, as you can see, have improved. The Guildmaster need not inquire further into the matter of how I'm being treated as a noble. The offending party who failed to produce the proper goods was dealt with appropriately, as I'll explain in a moment, but in any case my rooms are quite fine. Almost the entire thing has been smoothed out and I've got all of my necessary furniture. Stitches here is RTiger's new apprentice. He's helped me out with the whole thing."
Stitches, a former nursing apprentice who cared more for artistry and illuminating stone than for healthcare.
"As for the year itself . . ."
GRANITE
Everyone without immediate work got in on disassembling the old aquifer pumps. EmperorJon, PBD, Dr. C the oddly elusive Scientist and Blunderbooze were all party to it as well as several of the fort's children. Bayar's need for pumps in the gymnasium had brought them to taking apart these old machines. The walls were also made of sandstone blocks and blocks, in spite of Babalos' and Valrandir's constant efforts, were always in short supply.
At first everything was going smoothly: the first pump was taken apart and the wall along with it. EmperorJon gruffly informed the kids about the proper way to revert a stone wall into a simple block without doing it any damage until gruff call from the new militia captain named Unibot forced him back into his forge to start cooking up a pair of silver hammers for both Unibot and a volunteer recruit for Unibot's squad who just called himself "Oldtimer."
Oldtimer isn't really the oldest dwarf around but he certainly acts like it. He was conscripted at a tender age to battle against goblins before retiring early at 30. Now a dwarf of 73 years, he wants to fight again and needs to get back into shape.
Jacen, amongst others, was now sporting a greater degree of protection. Soft copper protection, perhaps, but it was better than running into the fray in work clothes.
Down below, I Kick Shins had just begun his cavern patrol to watch over future construction work.
"Down here on the mayor's orders, eh Babalos?"
"Y-y-yep, sh-she wanted t-to make sure tha-at there wouldn't b-be any issues with the c-construction. V-very important, the cavern defences. Who k-knows what s-sort of things live d-down here."
"Aye . . . food for thought," muttered the wrestler as he peered out into the subterranean waters, "Now where'n the pits of hell's that new recruit of mine? SHINS?! GET DOWN HERE!"
The bellowing call echoed up the stairwell. Moments later an equally disgruntled and muscular dwarf stomped down into the cordoned area. He snorted and said "I was on my bloody way, didn't hafta bellow to kingdom beyond like that. Likely woke every crundle with a mind to feed the queen down in here."
"Might as bloody well: you could use the practice in cracking some ant jaws. Get on with you, this mason needs someone to watch his back."
I Kick Shins spent a little time using a crossbow but found himself too angry to shoot straight. He found his way to Inen Vakun in hopes of finding a mentor in the ways of beating the pulp out of something with his two bare hands.
"Might I have a moment to speak with you, Valrandir?" Dorna said through the doorway into the doctor's gloomy quarters.
"Busy. Ask me next month."
Just down the hallway stood Sherlock beside an unmarked doorway. He waved a cautious hello to the mayor who strode up to him with the hem of her robes lifted to avoid the constant mud.
"Eh, hiya your . . . er, highness? Milady? Majesty Theaterowls? Here on . . . some manner of official business, are you? I hope it's nothing to do with the workshop behind me, we're a wee bit behind schedule. Rev's trying to get the sign sorted out as we speak."
"Oh? Very good. I've come around to take a quick glance at surface-level labour. What, er, workspace is this exactly?"
"Kitchens, ma'am. We hope to produce the finest chow this side of the range. Rev's got his mind set on it with all sorts of recipes in store. You'll do well to try some if you're tired of nothing but raw plump helmet all season."
"Delightful! You're a cook, then?"
"No no, I'm the watch. Things as they are around here, Rev's concerned about the safety of the food. Wouldn't want someone getting ill from out meals due to . . . underhanded behaviour and then blaming it on us. I'm here to watch the place, and this hallway by extension. So far it's been all-clear. Nothing suspicious to report. Lot of activity, though. EmperorJon has been in and out of the forges, Lekza's been in between dyeing cloth and taking breaks. I think the woman is beat to exhaustion with all the dyeing and weaving she's been up to. She's not done yet, either. I heard her saying she wants certain clothes for all of her workers and they're still wearing basic leather duds."
"It's a constant stream of activity. Haven't seen most big names around here much 'cept when they come in for booze, I think they're busy with other projects. I hear Rath's got a new butcher shop up above, nearly complete. I saw Johnny Digs and some URISTs hauling ass up there to dig the rest of it out."
"Keep up the good work, Sherlock. No complaints here."
"Ma'am," the watchdwarf said with a friendly nod before a deafening *THUD* shook the earth.
Both he and the mayor rushed down the hallway and up the stairs towards where the pumps were undergoing deconstruction. Amongst the haze of dust and spattered mud a child lay dead.
"What in the name of . . . what happened here?!"
The URISTs looked about in confusion, "I don't know, ma'am! We were just told to deconstruct these walls and pumps! No idea where the collapse even came from!"
"This is exactly how Vabok died," she hissed through her teeth, "Something is very wrong here. Did the ring fall? Did someone collapse the final aquifer ring?"
"No ma'am! Just these walls around the pumps! I don't know how the cave-in even happened or what fell, it just . . . well, suddenly the boy was dead!"
She gritted her teeth and pointed up at the ring above, "Someone needs to do something about that before it's the death of us."
"I'll be in my office. Report to Valrandir if there's any more injured. If he can find the time to leave his office, that is."
Another child named Likot showed signs of injury but, lacking a hospital, he was told to walk it off.
Greasebeard, the father of the dead child, seemed to be taking his loss well.
He was given time off of fishing duty anyway, which he spent walking circles around the well in silence.
The rest of the children were allowed to work on something safer: Bayar's gatehouse project.
***
"As you can see," Dorna gestured around the caverns for the liaison to see, "The cavern system beneath us is not only spacious but full of gem clusters. Sure-fire profit! The mountainhomes should be so lucky as to be sponsoring us."
The liaison nodded and murmured his approval.
"IPunchFaces, everything in order down here?" she called out to the patrolling soldier.
"Aye . . . for now," he said, "Although I think I saw something in the water yesterday. I'm not sure what, it was at least a dwarf-height down, but it looked a mite bit bigger than a fish. Could've been my eyes, of course. But if it weren't, then something bigger than damned fish is down here with us. Something with tentacles."
"I saw it too, spooked me real good. " said Jacen, "Definitely tentacles. At least three of them."
"I . . . see. Would you like to see the bedrooms?" she said to the liaison while yanking him by the sleeve towards the staircase.
In his nearby workshop the tired and out-of-breath Spider Dodger fed on one of Mitha McStewart's recent creations.
Delicious and slimy mussel biscuits.
***
The URISTs scrambled to make it happen while Rath got to chopping up the remains of Crazyteddles' last training session.
Outside, Ineth and Spera were busy looking for more targets. They decided to be ambitious.
Legends of the ferocity of Elephants turned out to be false.
Ineth was able to get close enough to unload her bolts at point-blank.
300 units of fresh meat, coming right up!
***
The greatest discoveries of the season had to do with the mining crew. The first was hitting raw marble.
"EmperorJon'll want to know about this," said Mipe.
"Only if we manage to hit iron between here and the hells themselves," smirked Stiric, "Otherwise it's just pretty to look at."
About thirty dwarf-heights further down Mipe questioned him, "Do you feel that?"
"It's hot," Stiric said, "It's real bloody hot down here."
"Nevermind the flux," Mipe said as they re-slung their picks, "Both Gordy and Jon'll be far more interested in that."
Gordy, however, was too busy trying to get a mad URIST out of one of his glassmaking workshops to listen. The poor bastard wanted everything: rock, leather, and of course, glass. He wanted raw green glass. Gordy hadn't even had enough bags to gather sand for a handfull of blocks and this sap wanted glass or death.
He stewed over it for a while in the dining room, annoyed as all hell that his workshop had been usurped. He listened to Smith Junior snoring in the forges. EmperorJon had forbidden him from going to his room until he smelted at least 40 bars of copper.
The last event of early Spring was the death of a Llama, who apparently hadn't taken well to a caged life and gave up the ghost due to starvation.
SLATE
Gordy bit the bullet and made the crazy fool his damn glass.
Unfortunately he still wouldn't leave the workshop until he got some tanned hide. Rath claimed that he was working on it: an elephant had been hauled in from Spera's latest target practice excursion.
But Rath cared not for tanning and instead just made more bolts.
Dorna took an opportunity to make some important decisions regarding fortress economy.
Specifically that she didn't want her damn necklace, or any necklace for that matter, sold under any conditions.
Some migrants arrived just in time: free labour was in high demand during mid-Spring what with the five or so projects going on at once including PBD's sky fortress, Bayar's gatehouse, block production, Aqua's underground spring and zoo, the cavern defences and constant farming.
Their arrival was punctuated by the unveiling of a newly engraved sign in the hallway connecting the farms to Valrandir's suite:
The sound of biscuits being scooped out of a wood oven echoed from within accompanied by Rev whistling songs of revolution and dwarfy freedom.
"GET'CHER MUSSEL BISCUITS WHILE THEY'RE HOT. FRESH MUSSEL BISCUITS."
***
With all the air in his lungs I Punch Faces let loose with a shout,
"I HATE PATROL DUTY."
"Aye," Jacen grumbled, "I'm tired of this. I don't care what the mayor bloody says, I'm going ahead. The walls are nearly done. Nothing's going to nab any of the masons if we're quick."
"You first," said I Punch Faces, "That way I can prove it was your idea."
Jacen followed the tunnel to the west until he reached an intersection with four paths, where the three of them split up. I Punch Faces and I Kick Shins explored to the south while Jacen examined the rest.
The northeast path was a dead end that led nowhere. To the west through the chill spires of Nether Caps he saw a distant haze of spiderweb and decided it wasn't necessary to continue on any further. Some of the webs were drifting as if on a breeze even though none could be felt.
To the south I Kick Shins discovered a vast expanse of water that extended out as far as the eye could see. There were a number of unreachable muddy beaches and shores below that led to inexplorable passages. Without a construction effort they would remain unknown.
"Looks like the south's not an option for logging . . . or much of anything," I Kick Shins said as I Punch Faces stepped back from the lip of the cliff overlooking the lake below, "I'll get someone to sketch up the general topography for what we've found. The mayor'll be interested in this."
I Punch Faces nodded, "For the better or the worse, aye?"
THE CAVERNS:
FELSITE
They were promptly ignored, as usual, in light of much more important news.
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AN OFFICIAL ORDER ON BEHALF OF MAYOR
DORNA THEATEROWLS
DECLARES ONE
BAYAR LITASTREG
TO BE ELEVATED TO THE POSITION OF CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD
AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PROUD DWARVES OF
INEN VAKUN
MAY HIS JUSTICE BE FAIR, SWIFT AND DECISIVE
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"A fine choice," said Unibot with a frown, "Justice indeed. No military experience, nothing befitting of a Captain. We'll see how this plays out for us all."
Oldtimer nodded as Unibot returned to his demonstration, "Dodging. It's not just about putting yourself where the weapon isn't. It's about putting yourself where you should be. Too many good men I've seen leap right off of a ledge into a pit o' death trying to avoid a gobbo's blade. Don't leap about like a kobold in a vault: put yourself where you can line up a blow. You must dodge smartly, not quickly. You need to dodge clever, not fancy. Think about where you're throwing yourself. It'll guarantee you a chance at seeing your grandkids again, Oldtimer."
The recruit nodded, "Haven't seen them in years, I haven't."
"And to think," said Unibot, "They're electing a woman who, as I've heard rumor, loves Bismuth. Bismuth! Just imagine the demands she'll be making. I know how easy it can be: I've seen many a good solider fall into corruption and sin once they're elevated to a position of power. A dwarf with simple and modest needs is more suitable for the task. Pfah."
"Just imagine what's in store for us all."
***
"Off for more webs, then?"
"Aye," Spider Dodger said as Jacen passed him by, "Me life's work."
"It'll be," said Jacen with sloped lips, "If you make it thus. I saw danger in those tunnels. Be careful out there."
Logging had been permitted by the mayor in light of the cavern defences being nearly complete.
She, herself, had gone down into the tunnels to hook up the various gates to her control room. She bore the possibility of danger with an air of solemn grace, not even requesting an escort.
Greymist assisted as well, the two of them long since comrades in construction.
Besmar McHolmes' needs for ash bars was fulfilled by the end of Spring. He took to making lye at once, concerned for fortress sanitation. His stonefall traps lurked at the entrance to his workshop in case anyone might try to walk in unannounced and unwanted.
Crazyteddles and his sword crew had to settle for sparring with each other during Spring, as a lack of ready hands made constructing and disarming the horde of captured goblins a bit difficult. By the end of Felsite they were in place but still being stripped of their goods.
Aqua's Aquatic Abode was carried out according to plan. Well, almost exactly according to plan: one extra level was dug out in order to reach aquifer. Summer would have to carry the plan onwards to completion.
Bayar's two new woodcutting assistants Minni and Winni brought it to attention that a vast amount of lumber awaited on the south side of the river, if only a bridge would be built to access it and defences erected to protect their work
Minni and Winni are twins with no particular skills besides a willingness to learn and take orders.
Summer came as mugs were being ported to the elves, who had waited patiently for a month, in hopes of buying something useful off of them.
EmperorJon was in the dining room admiring some statues when Bayar came to visit him. He was proud of his two renditions of Reked, god of family. He thought the artistic license he'd taken with Reked's position within the family was rather avant-garde.
A historic piece involving a legendary trogolodyte stood beside it.
"Hey, congratulations on the win," said EmperorJon as Bayar walked up beside him, "I was just admiring the best thing I've made so far! Have a look: isn't it just the spitting image?"
"Sun berries, get it? Because the doc never leaves his office nor sees the sun, ever. It's got a kind of ironic poetry to it, I think. Now, didja have something to ask me Captain? Need a new suit of armour for your position, or maybe a cabinet for your office or . . . something . . . ?"
Bayar cleared her throat and cracked her knuckles.
"Is something the mat- *OOF*"
The spectacle drew a crowd. As Bayar rained down blows upon the smithy a URIST began tacking up a note next to all of the others dotting the dining room stating "ANY VIOLATION OF A PRODUCTION ORDER GONE UNHEEDED MAY BE CORRECTED BY WAY OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT."
"Mercy, I say! Mercy!" shouted EmperorJon as Bayar pummelled the wind out of him in view of everyone.
When he was finished Bayar dropped a sack at the feet of EmperorJon's bruised, prone form.
"Here, clean yourself up."
The Captain watched as the smithy took a hold of the sack and crawled on hands and knees to the well. Inside was a rough cloth and a bar of elephant soap stamped with the initials B.M.H.
"Attention, aspiring criminals! Law has come to Inen Vakun, and it needs decent bedchamber!"
THE FORT AS IT PUNISHES
STOCKS:
I assume that many will want their skills posted and stocks posted but there's so many I'm not going to post anything but what's requested.
We have magma! We have a captain! I forgot to mention in this post that we're VERY short on dining space so we need another dining room. Everyone's complaining of a lack of chairs.
PBD's project was not intentionally put on hold but we ran out of blocks mid-season. It will be finished in the summer.
The vote on traitor guilt will be posted
tout de suite. Lekza and Dorna are both accused and will be voted on one after the other. They should make a post to defend their position if they wish to do so. This is a bit late, I know, but only one poll can be run at a time and I need to give it at least three days to accumulate votes.
Now give me orders if you have new orders for Summer!
Poll
Author
Topic: The Hill of Deceivers .25 - A Community Fort of Treachery and Treason (Read 78842 times)