Journal of Carpenter Vucarnogvesh, Summer of 301Summer 1 Hematite 301I've decided to let them mine out the Hematite vein. I think we can live with a defensive ditch only two floors deep on three sides of the fort. The southern side however will continue on untill it's a full 20 floors deep.
Those goblins that somehow manage to dodge the wooden spiked balls I created will fall to their doom if they're not smart. Thankfully, most goblins aren't smart. Well, not as smart as us dwarves at least.
Since I created these giant spiked balls and their main purpose is to knock goblins off the edge of the platform, I've resorted to calling them my huge knockers. I don't understand the snickerings I keep hearing whenever I use the term. I guess the mental image of my big balls knocking goblins off the cliff amuses them. I don't know. People are weird.
I've also ordered one of the main stairwells to be extended deeper into the earth. I want to find magma so we can make use of this firebrick clay.
Summer 10 Hematite 301A shout from the miners echoed throughout the stairwell. I thought they found magma. Instead, it seems they've found a vast cavern complex with a variety of underground flora. The bright colors are a joy to behold, but the more practical side of me is a bit terrified at what might be lurking in dark corners of the complex.
I've ordered a wall built to seal off most of the caverns, but that still leaves us a fairly large area from which to harvest plants and trees from.
Hmm...there's no spider webs. Curious.
Summer 5 Malachite 301Hunter was on the upper pens (probably observing the large animals grazing nearby to hunt them better), when he saw some figures on the horizon. Dwarves! It seems that more than a few dwarves overheard of our plans back at the mountainhome and they wish to participate in our grand social experiment! We welcome Butcher, Gem Cutter, Engraver, Glassmaker, and Brewer to our fold. I point out to Glassmaker that we have no sand in the area, but he insists on keeping up with his profession. Perhaps some local trade would help bring in some materials for him.
Summer 22 Malachite 301Complaints about animals fighting in the pens made me order the slaughter of the offending animal. We can't have ornery bulls troubling the rest of the livestock. Butcher makes short work of the Water Buffalo bull.
Summer 26 Malachite 301Umm...apparently it wasn't the Water Buffalo bull that was causing the trouble, it was the Yak Cow. It met the same fate as the Water Buffalo. It's only fair.
Summer 28 Galena 301Butcher tells me that today officially marks the end of the wet season around these parts. It's also the end of Summer. That was quick. It took most of the Summer to wall off the underground caverns and we still haven't found magma.
Autumn 2 Sandstone 301Five more migrants join our group! We welcome Gem Setter, Soldier, Miller, Farmer, and Woodcutter. Good thing we set up 20 rooms beforehand. I think I need to get the Miners Three to expand those bedrooms if we're going to get more people here. Putting up with the noise of constant construction is annoying, but so is sharing three people to a bed.
Autumn 19 Timber 301A caravan from an organization calling themselves the Dwarf Trade Alliance has arrived! The representative talked really fast and it was difficult to follow his words. But He said that trade agreements between dwarven communities will benefit from interconnectivity in a global market with product dependencies creating increased demand and resulting in strategized cost structures.
He lost me with his words, but I think the gist is that we're all working together and what affects one community will affect others. We shall lift ourselves up together as one!
I signed the papers he presented me with and traded a few of my huge knockers, as well as some of cook's lesser creations. We got a ton of stuff in return, ranging from more varieties of meat and drink to anvils and metal bars. I passed up on the weapons and armor, though I did buy a few more picks. We also got a ram. I think I'm going to start a sheep industry.
Someone's getting fleeced...
Winter 1 Moonstone 301The weather never turned cold in the area. It's a bit strange to think that I might not ever see snow...
Winter 25 Moonstone 301The miners found magma in the northwest stairwell! More importantly, one of them caught a glimpse of blue metal off in the distance before the magma blocked his view. He's convinced that he saw Adamantine!
Mmm...Adamantine...
I'm trying to convince him that it was just a trick of the eye and that he's probably mistaken. I've forbidden any exploratory digging in that area on the basis that we still have too much work to do in the fortress proper before we can consider any exploratory digging, no matter how valuable the metal.
The truth is, I've heard horror stories about the cursed metal, mostly from my grandmother. I'd rather not touch it but I'm not sure anyone else would share my reticence. I'll try to keep everyone else occupied and busy so that we won't have to deal with this for a long while
(OOC: I'm already screwed up in terms of relative economy. I have no wish to compound that with Adamantine.)
Winter Opal 301Work on the magma furnaces continue. We managed to set up one each of Glass, Metal and Clay furnaces. Unfortunately, none of us are really skilled in any of the above trades. I'm hoping that a future migrant will show up and take over these work areas.
Winter 7 Obsidian 301A bit of excitement happens as the year draws to a close. A few weeks ago, Hunter was starting to support the Miners Three in searching for the Adamantine, so I had to distract him and quickly. I told him that he had permission to go hunt the large beasts wandering about. He was out of the office before I can finish my sentence.
He snuck upon a herd of the large creatures (which I've learned was called a Rhino). The bolts from his crossbow quickly hit one of the creatures and the rest scattered in a panic. Unfortunately, the creature was resiliant. Even after a bull's eye (rhino's eye?), it managed to run away from Hunter.
At least I think it's a bull...didn't get a chance to lift it's leg to check...
Thus began the chase.
The two in the top are thinking, "Eh...he separated from the herd. It's his fault."
Winter 18 Obsidian 301The chase was long. Eleven days to be exact. Hunter was forced to return to the keep to refill his quiver. Watching from the fortifications, I saw Hunter leave the mewling, crawling pitiful creature behind while he got more bolts. I asked him why he didn't just bash in the helpless thing's head while it's lying there. He looked at me as if I was the crazy one and said that it wasn't sportsmanlike...
The only way it could be more sportsmanlike was if it involved a magma cannon.
In the end, he killed it and dragged its huge carcass back to the butcher's area (almost crushing the cavy's corpse that he deposited there earlier in the week).
With a cheerful whistle, he told me that he's going out to get more fresh air.
Winter 26 Obsidian 301I don't believe it. Just a few more days until the new year, and in the middle of our celebratory preparations, Hunter comes into the kitchen prep area with yet another rhino carcass!
Butcher hasn't even finished with the first rhino yet (he's still working on the cavy...apparently it's a delicacy and he wanted to scrape as much meat off its tiny body as possible).
Oh well. Here's to the new year.
End of Year Report year 1No mandates
1 of 1 caravans successfully traded with.
Dang...roasts made from these jungle animals are worth a ton!
Yeah, I know I'm screwed. Most of that wealth is in the form of roasts from the cook. I don't even have a metal industry yet which is going to kick in next year (unless of course the trade limitations prevent that).
I'm almost tempted to have Carpenter kill everyone else and attempt a hermit challenge...hmm...not a bad idea...